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A 60-day cruise around Australia has been cancelled following the fatal incident of an elderly lady who was left behind by the ship on a isolated coastal location.

Suzanne Rees had been trekking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the cruise ship, but parted ways from the excursion for a rest. The liner left without her and came back after some time after the crew discovered the lady was not present.

An extensive search operation found her person the following day.

Investigative bodies are looking into the tragedy, together with police and the official investigator.

The CEO of the shipping company said that passengers and personnel on the vessel were informed that the continuation of the cruise had been terminated due to the "tragic passing and earlier engine troubles".

Through an announcement, he mentioned that guests would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to organize the return journeys of the travelers via private aircraft".

Regulatory bodies also released an latest statement, and said they had "provided a order to the Master" banning any new passengers from getting on the vessel.

The representative said that they would inspect the liner in the Australian city upon its return.

Timeline of Events

The ship originally sailed from Cairns on 24 October, and was merely two days into the journey at the point of the senior passenger's passing. The remote island was the opening port on the journey.

Guests on the vessel - who typically pay large sums of money to join the cruise - were transported there for a day trip with the option of hiking or underwater exploration.

Family Reaction

The daughter of the deceased woman said that her relatives was "shocked and distressed that the liner left the location after an scheduled excursion without my mum".

In her statement, she portrayed her mum as an "vigorous elderly person" who was a member of a bushwalking group.

"According to scant details we have been informed, it looks that there was a failure of attention and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She continued that she hoped the investigation would be able to identify what "the organization should have undertaken that might have preserved Mum's being".

"We understand from the authorities that it was a extremely warm period, and mum took sick on the uphill trek," she revealed.

"Officials suggested her to return, without accompaniment. Then the boat departed, reportedly without conducting a headcount.

"During some point in that process, or shortly after, she died, by herself."

Organization Reaction

In a statement, the Chief Executive confirmed that the company was "working closely with officials to aid their examination".

He stated that the firm was "very regretful that this has transpired" and had provided its total backing to the family.

Cruise Industry Standards

The vessel caters for up to 120 travelers with forty-six staff, according to company data. It was specially constructed to enter isolated regions of the Australian coast and is outfitted with "tenders" - compact vessels used to ferry travelers on shore trips.

Events such as this are infrequent, and cruise ships have protocols to track which passengers are boarding or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard simply isn't an option," one expert stated.

Cruise lines regard these procedures with great importance and have "advanced technology in place to prevent such events from occurring," the expert added.

"This is probably a stunning - and unfortunate - isolated incident."