Coral Adventurer: ATSB investigates stranded cruise ship, months after passenger Suzanne Rees dies

Australian safety authorities are investigating after a beleaguered Australian cruise ship ran aground on a coral reef, months after a passenger on the same vessel died after allegedly being left behind on Lizard Island.

The Coral Adventurer on Saturday once again made headlines after 123 people, 80 passengers and 43 crew, were stranded aboard when the vessel struck a reef around 30km off the Finschaffen Coast, east of Lae, Papua New Guinea at around 5.25am.

There have been no injuries and while damage to the hull is still unknown there has been no water ingress reported, according to the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau.

The Coral Adventurer is already under investigation following a previous tragedy where elderly passenger Suzanne Rees died after allegedly being left behind after going for a hike on Lizard Island in Far North Queensland on October 25.

The ship departed without her, before returning a few hours later once the crew realised she was missing.

The Sydney woman’s body was not found until after a major search operation the following day. Citing Ms Rees death and previous mechanical issues, that 60-day cruise was then cancelled.

In the latest incident, the grounded NRMA-owned ship heeled over about 6 degrees to port, with efforts to refloat using the ship’s own engines proving unsuccessful.

A towage provider has been engaged to assist refloating the ship and these efforts are still underway.

The ship’s operator Coral Expeditions announced on Monday it would end the tour a day early and fly passengers on a charter flight back to Australia.

The ABC reports it is likely they will fly to Cairns on a date still to be determined.

An ATSB statement on the incident reads, “The ATSB is not involved with the ship’s recovery operations but is continuing to monitor the situation as part of its investigation. The ATSB will attend the ship to conduct interviews and collect evidence and data once appropriate.”

“In the meantime, data from the ship’s voyage data recorder has been quarantined and investigators are collecting other relevant recorded information, including ship tracking data, weather information, and crew, operator and maintenance records.”

A preliminary report on the investigation is expected in about two months.

“The investigation’s findings will be contained in a final report to be released at the conclusion of the investigation. The final report will also detail the ATSB’s analysis of the evidence to support those findings.

“However, should a critical safety issue be identified during the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so safety action can be taken.’

Coral Expeditions has been contacted for comment.