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One two-month voyage through Australia is being halted in the wake of the death of an senior woman who was left behind by the vessel on a distant island.

The passenger had been trekking on the tropical location with other travelers from the vessel, but separated from the excursion for a break. The vessel departed without her and returned later that day after the ship staff realised the woman was unaccounted for.

A major search operation discovered her remains the next day.

Investigative bodies are investigating the incident, together with police and the state coroner.

Chief Executive of the shipping company said that travelers and staff on the Coral Adventurer were informed that the rest of the journey had been terminated due to the "sad loss and earlier technical problems".

In a statement, he further stated that passengers would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to arrange the homeward trips of the travelers via chartered flights".

Authorities also published an latest announcement, and said they had "provided a notice to the Commander" banning any new passengers from getting on the ship.

The official said that they would attend the ship in the port city upon its return.

Timeline of Events

The ship originally sailed from Cairns on the 24th of October, and was just two days into the expedition at the moment of the senior passenger's passing. Lizard Island was the initial destination on the voyage.

Passengers on the ship - who usually pay substantial amounts of money to take part in the voyage - were taken there for a shore visit with the possibility of trekking or underwater exploration.

Relatives Reaction

The offspring of the elderly passenger said that her loved ones was "stunned and grieved that the liner left the location after an scheduled tour without my mum".

In her statement, she described her mother as an "active 80-year-old" who was a participant of a walking group.

"From the little details we have been provided, it appears that there was a failure of care and common sense," she stated.

She continued that she hoped the inquiry would be able to determine what "the operator should have performed that might have protected Mother's life".

"We understand from the police that it was a extremely warm afternoon, and mother fell ill on the uphill trek," she explained.

"They requested her to go back, without accompaniment. Then the boat sailed away, apparently without performing a passenger count.

"At some stage in that process, or not long after, mum died, without company."

Company Response

In a statement, the CEO affirmed that the company was "working closely with authorities to assist their inquiry".

He stated that the company was "deeply sorry that this has transpired" and had offered its total backing to the relatives.

Cruise Industry Standards

The ship serves up to 120 guests with forty-six staff, according to official information. It was specially constructed to access isolated areas of the nation's coastline and is fitted with "tenders" - small boats used to ferry individuals on shore trips.

Events like this are uncommon, and liners have protocols to track which travelers are boarding or disembarking, according to travel authorities.

"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard just isn't an option," an authority remarked.

Shipping companies take these procedures extremely carefully and have "advanced technology in place to avoid such occurrences from happening," the expert continued.

"This seems to be presumably a shocking - and unfortunate - isolated incident."