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One 60-day cruise circling the Land Down Under is being halted in the wake of the tragic passing of an senior female passenger who was abandoned by the vessel on a remote tropical isle.

The elderly woman had been walking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the cruise ship, but separated from the party for a rest. The ship left without her and went back after some time after the personnel realised the lady was not present.

A major rescue mission located her body the following day.

Authorities are looking into the incident, together with investigators and the official investigator.

Head of the shipping company said that guests and staff on the Coral Adventurer were notified that the continuation of the journey had been cancelled due to the "unfortunate death and earlier technical problems".

In a statement, he added that guests would be provided a complete reimbursement, and said the organization was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the individuals via specially arranged planes".

Authorities also released an updated announcement, and said they had "provided a order to the Commander" prohibiting any additional guests from getting on the ship.

The spokesperson said that they would visit the ship in Cairns upon its coming back.

Chronology of Incidents

The vessel first departed the coastal city on the 24th of October, and was only 48 hours into the journey at the moment of the 80-year-old's death. The remote island was the opening port on the voyage.

Passengers on the ship - who generally pay large sums of dollars to join the expedition - were transported there for a day trip with the possibility of hiking or snorkelling.

Family Response

The offspring of the deceased woman said that her loved ones was "shocked and grieved that the liner left the island after an planned tour without my parent".

In her statement, she portrayed her parent as an "active 80-year-old" who was a participant of a bushwalking club.

"According to scant facts we have been provided, it appears that there was a failure of attention and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She continued that she hoped the investigation would be able to determine what "the company should have done that might have saved Her being".

"According to reports from the authorities that it was a extremely warm afternoon, and mum became unwell on the hill climb," she stated.

"Officials suggested her to go back, alone. Then the vessel departed, seemingly without doing a headcount.

"During some point in that process, or shortly after, mum succumbed, alone."

Operator Reaction

In a statement, the Chief Executive affirmed that the company was "working closely with investigators to assist their inquiry".

He said that the organization was "extremely apologetic that this has occurred" and had offered its full support to the loved ones.

Shipping Sector Procedures

The vessel serves up to a hundred twenty passengers with forty-six crew, according to official data. It was specially constructed to access distant regions of the nation's coastline and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - minor craft used to transport passengers on shore trips.

Incidents such as this are uncommon, and cruise ships have protocols to track which passengers are embarking or leaving, according to travel authorities.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship really isn't an possibility," an authority stated.

Cruise lines consider these procedures extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to avoid such occurrences from happening," the authority continued.

"This seems to be presumably a surprising - and sad - one-off."