GLR
A cruise ship has run aground in Papua New Guinea (PNG) during its first voyage since the death of an elderly passenger earlier this year, an incident that remains under official investigation.
The Coral Adventurer, operated by Australian company Coral Expeditions, is currently under scrutiny over the death of Suzanne Rees, 80, who died in late October after being left behind on a remote Australian island.
On Saturday, the vessel experienced what officials described as a “grounding incident” off Papua New Guinea’s eastern coastline, approximately 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the city of Lae, according to a spokesperson for the ship.
All passengers and crew were reported safe, and preliminary inspections indicated no visible damage to the vessel’s hull. Additional checks were scheduled to take place on Sunday to ensure the ship’s seaworthiness.
In a statement to the BBC, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed it had not received a distress call from the Coral Adventurer. The agency said it was closely monitoring the situation and stood ready to assist Papua New Guinea authorities should support be required.
No decision has yet been made regarding the continuation of the current 12-day voyage, which is scheduled to conclude on 30 December. At the time of the grounding, there were 80 passengers and 43 crew members aboard the ship.
The incident comes as the Coral Adventurer remains the subject of a joint investigation by AMSA and Queensland Police following the death of Ms Rees, whose body was discovered on Lizard Island on 26 October.
Ms Rees had been hiking on the remote island with a group of fellow passengers but separated from them to rest. The ship departed without her and only returned several hours later after crew members realised she was missing. A large-scale search operation was launched, and her body was found the following day.
The Coral Adventurer was just two days into a planned 60-day voyage at the time of Ms Rees’s death. The remainder of that cruise was cancelled, with full refunds offered to all passengers.
Coral Expeditions CEO Mark Fifield said the company was “deeply sorry that this has occurred” and confirmed that full support had been extended to the Rees family. He added that the operator was “working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to assist their investigation”.
AMSA declined to provide further details on the status of the ongoing investigation, stating that it is not standard practice to make investigation findings public.
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