Passengers slam Queensland cruise ship after running aground off Papua New Guinea
Eighty travellers are back on Australian soil after days stranded off Papua New Guinea when their cruise ship ran aground on a reef, abruptly ending what was meant to be a 12-day luxury voyage.
The Australian-registered Coral Adventurer departed Cairns on December 18, but the trip unravelled when the vessel ran aground on a reef off the Finschaffen Coast, east of Lae and about 30km north of Port Moresby, about 5.25am local time on December 27.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Coral Adventurer passengers stranded after PNG grounding
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.123 people — 80 passengers from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Israel, and 43 crew members remained stranded at sea for the final four days of the journey.
No injuries have been reported.
A chartered flight carrying all 80 passengers touched down at Cairns Airport at 8.15pm on Tuesday.
“We had 20 seconds of shaking and it was not nice,” one passenger told 7NEWS.
“I leapt out of bed to see what ... this is not good, this is not good. I got my clothes on and raced up to the deck.”
Another passenger said the fear lingered well beyond the initial impact.
“In danger. And then they said we are safe for another four days. And it was horrible,” passenger Ursula Daus from Berlin, Germany, told 7NEWS.
Frustration spilled over as passengers finally returned home.
“Disappointed, disillusioned and it’s disgraceful,” one traveller said on arrival in Cairns.
The incident is the latest in a series of troubles for the Queensland-based vessel.
In October, the same ship left behind 80-year-old Suzanne Rees on Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef.
She was later found dead, prompting an investigation.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has now detained the Coral Adventurer as it examines what went wrong during the latest voyage.
The ship’s operators told 7NEWS initial inspections by certified divers found no significant damage to the vessel’s hull.
“Coral Expeditions regrets the grounding of its vessel and apologises to our passengers,” the company said in a statement.
Travellers have been offered refunds or incentives to sail again, including a 40 per cent refund or 50 per cent off future bookings.
Not all are keen.
“Never ever again, finished,” Daus said.
Despite the backlash, some loyal customers remain supportive of the operator.
“We’ve sailed previously with Coral Expeditions and we’ll do so again,” one passenger said.
“Surely I would jump on the next trip,” another added.
The vessel is expected to return to Cairns once clearance is granted, where a full investigation by maritime authorities will continue.
Originally published on 7NEWS
