Investigators have boarded an Australian cruise ship more than 10 days after the death of an elderly female passenger who was left behind on a remote island.
Suzanne Rees, 80, had been hiking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the Coral Adventurer, but broke off from the group for a rest. The ship left without her, only returning several hours later when the crew realised Ms Rees was missing.
Officials from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) boarded the vessel on Wednesday morning local time.
Amsa, which is probing the incident alongside Queensland Police and the state coroner, told the BBC it could not comment on the investigation.
The 60-day cruise around Australia, which had cost guests tens of thousands of dollars, was cancelled due to Ms Rees’ death as well as mechanical issues.
The Coral Adventurer had been expected to dock at Cairns – where its operator Coral Expeditions is based.
But a lack of available berths meant it instead dropped anchor a few kilometres north early on Tuesday evening, off the coast of Yorkey’s Knob, where it remained on Wednesday morning.
The BBC understands only a skeleton crew were on board.
Ship tracking data showed one of the vessel’s smaller boats, known as a tender, moving between the ship and the shore on Tuesday night.
All passengers disembarked at Horn Island in the far north of Queensland over the weekend and were transferred to the mainland on a charter plane.
The Coral Adventurer caters for up to 120 guests with 46 crew, according to the company’s website. It was purpose-built to access remote areas of Australia’s coast.
Tracking data shows the vessel initially left Cairns at around 07:30 local time on 24 October – after a delay of around a week because of mechanical issues.
The next day it reached Lizard Island – also known as Jiigurru or Dyiigurra – in the northern area of the Great Barrier Reef for the first stop on the journey.
Passengers aboard were transported by tenders to the secluded island – home to a luxury resort and a research station – for a day trip with the option of hiking or snorkelling.
Suzanne Rees’ daughter, Katherine Rees, said last week that her family was “shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum”.
She described her mother, who was from Sydney, as an “active 80-year-old” who was a member of a bushwalking group.
“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense.”
Ms Rees added that she hoped the coroner’s inquiry would be able to pinpoint what “the company should have done that might have saved mum’s life”.
“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mum fell ill on the hill climb,” she said.
“She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count.
“At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone.”
A search and rescue effort late on Saturday 25 October – the day she went missing – did not find any sign of Ms Rees. Her body was discovered the following day.
Last week Mark Fifield, the chief executive of the cruise operator Coral Expeditions, confirmed the firm was “working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support their investigation”.
Mr Fifield said that the company was “deeply sorry that this has occurred” and had offered its full support to the Rees family.
