Passengers on ill-fated cruise ship flown home after tragic Lizard Island death of 80-year-old

All passengers on the ill-fated, luxury Coral Adventurer cruise have been disembarked and the ship is now sailing for Cairns where the investigation into the tragic death of passenger Suzanne Rees, 80, will continue.

The vessel stayed near Thursday Island in the Torres Strait while passengers packed their bags and left the ship, to board flights home.

It is understood the vessel, run by Coral Expeditions, will arrive early this week. It was initially planning to disembark in Darwin but rerouted to Cairns, where the ship is usually based, after the trip was cut short.

The chief executive officer of Coral Expeditions, Mark Fifield, said the company prided itself on “delivering high-quality experiences to our guests”.

“It was increasingly apparent, given the circumstances of the last week, that we could not deliver on this promise,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Rees and her fellow passengers boarded Coral Expeditions’ 120-guest Coral Adventurer in Cairns on Friday 24 October. Balcony rooms on the cruise were priced at $86,400 per person, according to Clean Cruising, with a 46-member crew on board the 94.5-metre purpose-built vessel.

On 25 October, the ship arrived on Lizard Island as part of a 60-day circumnavigation of Australia. Rees had to pull out of a planned hike to the island’s Cook’s Look summit.

Her daughter, Katherine Rees, said her mother had felt ill and was asked to head down, unescorted. She never made it back to the ship.

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The Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island at 3.40pm last Saturday. It was five hours before authorities were alerted that she was missing, and a land and sea search-and-rescue operation was launched.

Rees was found dead the next day.

Katherine Rees said the family was “shocked and saddened” that the ship had left the island after the organised excursion without her mother.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said on Saturday it had issued a notice to the master of the ship “prohibiting the embarkation of any new passengers”.

The safety authority said Amsa staff would meet the ship when it docked in Cairns.

Amsa is investigating why Rees may not have been accounted for during boarding.

Fifield said passengers and crew were notified on Wednesday that “following the tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues, the decision had been made to cancel the remainder of the voyage”.

“Passengers were told they would receive a full refund,” he said in Saturday’s statement.

“Since that time, our team has worked to coordinate the return journeys of the passengers via chartered flights, as well as the crew and the vessel.”

Amsa and Fifield have offered their condolences to Rees’ family and loved ones.

A spokesperson for Queensland police said the death, which would be investigated by the coroner, was “non-suspicious”.