The Coral Adventurer cruise ship has returned to Cairns. Photo: Facebook.
Cape York has reached out to the family of the 80-year-old Sydney woman who died on Lizard Island.
Suzanne Rees was reported missing hours after the Coral Adventurer cruise ship visited the island on Saturday, 25 October. A search recovered her body on the island the following morning.
“I extend my sincerest condolences to the woman’s family, friends and those affected by this tragedy,” Cook Shire Council Mayor Robyn Holmes said on behalf of the community.
“This is a sensitive time and I extend my appreciation to those agencies in the ongoing investigation.
“I encourage anyone wanting information to contact the Queensland Police Service.”
Ms Rees had been on a group hiking tour to the island’s Cook’s Look summit but did not return to the ship. Unaware the woman had not reboarded, the ship departed the area in the early evening.
The ship turned back after reaching waters off Cape Melville National Park shortly before 9 pm when crew realised the passenger was not on board.
Emergency services, including Nautilus Aviation helicopters, were called just before midnight.
The 60-day cruise started in Cairns on Friday morning, 24 October. Initially heading to Darwin, the trip has now been cancelled and the ship turned around back to Cairns.
The vessel reportedly stayed near Thursday Island while passengers packed to leave.
The Coral Adventurer forms part of the Coral Expeditions fleet.
Chief executive officer of Coral Expeditions, Mark Fifield, said the company strived to deliver high-quality experiences for its guests.
“It was increasingly apparent, given the circumstances of the last week, we could not deliver on this promise,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Queensland Police and the state coroner are investigating the incident. Police initially said the death was being treated as “sudden and non-suspicious”.
In a statement released on Saturday, AMSA said it had “issued a notice to the Master of Coral Adventurer prohibiting the embarkation of any new passengers”.
AMSA officers plan to attend the vessel in Cairns.
According to the Coral Expeditions website, the Coral Adventurer was launched in April 2019 as a tropical expedition ship purpose-designed to access remote wilderness shores in Australia and internationally often inaccessible to large cruise vessels.
The 94.5-metre ship, with a 46-member crew on board, carries a maximum of 120 passengers.
