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One 60-day journey around Australia is being halted in the wake of the death of an older woman who was abandoned by the cruise liner on a remote coastal location.

Suzanne Rees had been hiking on the tropical location with other travelers from the vessel, but parted ways from the party for a pause. The liner left without her and returned several hours later after the personnel discovered the passenger was not present.

A major search operation found her body the next day.

Officials are examining the tragedy, together with law enforcement and the state coroner.

Head of the voyage organizer announced that guests and personnel on the ship were informed that the continuation of the journey had been terminated due to the "tragic passing and previous technical problems".

In a statement, he further stated that guests would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to coordinate the travel back of the travelers via private aircraft".

Authorities also released an revised announcement, and said they had "delivered a notice to the Master" banning any new passengers from getting on the ship.

The representative said that they would attend the ship in Cairns upon its arrival.

Timeline of Events

The ship first departed Cairns on 24 October, and was only 48 hours into the expedition at the time of the 80-year-old's demise. The remote island was the initial destination on the journey.

Passengers on board - who usually pay substantial amounts of money to participate in the cruise - were transported there for a daily excursion with the option of hiking or underwater exploration.

Family Response

The daughter of the elderly passenger said that her family was "stunned and saddened that the vessel left Lizard Island after an organised tour without my parent".

Through her comments, she portrayed her mum as an "vigorous octogenarian" who was a affiliate of a hiking group.

"From the little information we have been provided, it appears that there was a failure of attention and basic judgment," she mentioned.

She added that she wished the examination would be able to identify what "the operator should have performed that might have protected Mum's being".

"We understand from the authorities that it was a extremely warm afternoon, and mother fell ill on the mountain ascent," she explained.

"They requested her to go back, alone. Then the boat departed, apparently without doing a roll call.

"At some stage in that chain of events, or shortly after, mum succumbed, without company."

Operator Reaction

In a statement, the Head verified that the operator was "working closely with authorities to support their examination".

He said that the organization was "extremely apologetic that this has transpired" and had offered its complete assistance to the relatives.

Cruise Industry Standards

The ship caters for up to one hundred twenty guests with forty-six staff, according to company data. It was specifically designed to enter remote areas of Australia's shoreline and is equipped with "small boats" - minor craft used to take individuals on land visits.

Occurrences such as this are rare, and cruise ships have protocols to track which individuals are boarding or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Sneaking ashore or [back] aboard simply isn't an possibility," an authority remarked.

Vessel operators take these procedures with great importance and have "clever tech in place to avoid such occurrences from happening," the authority further stated.

"This appears to be probably a shocking - and unfortunate - isolated incident."