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An extensive 60-day cruise through the Australian Coast is being halted in the wake of the fatal incident of an older female passenger who was stranded by the vessel on a remote coastal location.

Suzanne Rees had been trekking on the tropical location with fellow passengers from the vessel, but parted ways from the excursion for a rest. The vessel sailed away leaving her and came back after some time after the crew realised the passenger was missing.

A major rescue mission found her body the next day.

Investigative bodies are looking into the tragedy, together with investigators and the medical examiner.

The CEO of the cruise operator said that travelers and personnel on the ship were informed that the rest of the journey had been called off due to the "tragic passing and earlier technical problems".

Through an announcement, he further stated that passengers would be issued a full refund, and said the operator was working "to organize the homeward trips of the passengers via chartered flights".

Officials also issued an latest communication, and said they had "issued a order to the Commander" prohibiting any new passengers from entering the vessel.

The spokesperson said that they would attend the vessel in Cairns upon its arrival.

Sequence of Occurrences

The vessel originally sailed from the Australian port on October 24th, and was just two days into the voyage at the point of the 80-year-old's death. The remote island was the first stop on the itinerary.

Guests on the ship - who typically pay large sums of currency to participate in the cruise - were transported there for a shore visit with the possibility of trekking or underwater exploration.

Relatives Statement

The daughter of the deceased woman said that her loved ones was "stunned and saddened that the vessel left Lizard Island after an scheduled outing without my mum".

In her statement, she described her parent as an "vigorous octogenarian" who was a participant of a hiking organization.

"Based on limited details we have been told, it appears that there was a breakdown of responsibility and basic judgment," she stated.

She continued that she wished the examination would be able to pinpoint what "the company should have performed that might have saved Her being".

"We understand from the authorities that it was a exceptionally warm afternoon, and mum fell ill on the uphill trek," she stated.

"They requested her to go back, unescorted. Then the boat sailed away, seemingly without doing a headcount.

"During some point in that chain of events, or soon after, mum passed away, by herself."

Operator Position

In a statement, the Head verified that the organization was "working closely with officials to aid their examination".

He mentioned that the company was "extremely apologetic that this has transpired" and had offered its full support to the relatives.

Cruise Industry Practices

The ship serves up to 120 travelers with forty-six personnel, according to official details. It was specifically designed to access remote areas of the nation's coastline and is equipped with "auxiliary vessels" - compact vessels used to ferry travelers on land visits.

Occurrences of this nature are rare, and cruise ships have protocols to track which individuals are getting on or leaving, according to maritime specialists.

"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard really isn't an possibility," a specialist remarked.

Shipping companies consider these processes extremely carefully and have "advanced technology in place to avoid such incidents from taking place," the expert further stated.

"This seems to be probably a surprising - and tragic - isolated incident."