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An extensive 60-day voyage around the Australian Coast has been cancelled days after the tragic passing of an older female passenger who was left behind by the ship on a isolated coastal location.

The passenger had been hiking on the tropical location with shipmates from the cruise ship, but parted ways from the excursion for a rest. The ship sailed away leaving her and came back after some time after the ship staff realised the passenger was not present.

A large-scale search operation found her body the subsequent day.

Officials are examining the incident, together with law enforcement and the official investigator.

Chief Executive of the shipping company announced that passengers and crew on the ship were informed that the remainder of the journey had been called off due to the "tragic passing and earlier mechanical issues".

In a statement, he mentioned that guests would be issued a total repayment, and said the operator was working "to organize the return journeys of the individuals via private aircraft".

Officials also published an updated announcement, and said they had "provided a order to the Captain" banning any new passengers from getting on the vessel.

The representative said that they would visit the liner in the Australian city upon its return.

Timeline of Events

The vessel originally sailed from the coastal city on the 24th of October, and was only 48 hours into the expedition at the point of the 80-year-old's death. Lizard Island was the initial destination on the journey.

Guests on the ship - who generally pay tens of thousands of currency to join the voyage - were ferried there for a shore visit with the possibility of trekking or snorkelling.

Relatives Response

The child of the deceased woman said that her loved ones was "surprised and grieved that the vessel left Lizard Island after an scheduled tour without my mother".

In her statement, she described her mum as an "energetic 80-year-old" who was a affiliate of a walking organization.

"Based on limited information we have been told, it seems that there was a lapse of responsibility and basic judgment," she stated.

She continued that she desired the examination would be able to identify what "the operator should have done that might have saved Mother's being".

"According to reports from the investigators that it was a very hot day, and she took sick on the hill climb," she explained.

"They requested her to go back, without accompaniment. Then the vessel left, reportedly without conducting a passenger count.

"During some point in that chain of events, or soon after, mother passed away, without company."

Company Reaction

Through an announcement, the CEO affirmed that the operator was "working closely with officials to support their examination".

He said that the firm was "deeply sorry that this has occurred" and had offered its full support to the family.

Shipping Sector Practices

The liner accommodates up to one hundred twenty passengers with forty-six staff, according to corporate information. It was purpose-built to access remote locations of the nation's coastline and is fitted with "tenders" - compact vessels used to ferry individuals on land visits.

Events like this are rare, and cruise ships have protocols to document which travelers are embarking or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] aboard simply isn't an choice," a specialist remarked.

Shipping companies take these methods with great importance and have "advanced technology in place to prevent such events from taking place," the specialist added.

"This seems to be presumably a stunning - and sad - isolated incident."