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A two-month journey circling Australia was terminated in the wake of the fatal incident of an elderly woman who was stranded by the ship on a remote coastal location.

The passenger had been walking on the tropical location with shipmates from the vessel, but broke off from the group for a break. The ship sailed away leaving her and returned after some time after the ship staff discovered the woman was not present.

A large-scale rescue mission found her remains the next day.

Investigative bodies are examining the incident, in coordination with police and the state coroner.

Chief Executive of the cruise operator announced that travelers and personnel on the ship were informed that the remainder of the voyage had been terminated due to the "unfortunate death and previous engine troubles".

Via official communication, he further stated that passengers would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to organize the return journeys of the passengers via chartered flights".

Authorities also released an latest statement, and said they had "provided a order to the Captain" prohibiting any additional guests from boarding the liner.

The representative said that they would attend the ship in the Australian city upon its return.

Timeline of Incidents

The ship originally sailed from the Australian port on October 24th, and was merely two days into the voyage at the point of the senior passenger's demise. The tropical location was the first stop on the itinerary.

Guests on the vessel - who typically pay tens of thousands of dollars to participate in the expedition - were taken there for a shore visit with the option of trekking or snorkelling.

Next of Kin Reaction

The offspring of the elderly passenger said that her family was "shocked and distressed that the vessel left Lizard Island after an scheduled outing without my mother".

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

"From the little information we have been told, it seems that there was a lapse of care and common sense," she stated.

She further stated that she hoped the examination would be able to identify what "the organization should have undertaken that might have preserved Mother's being".

"According to reports from the authorities that it was a exceptionally warm day, and mum fell ill on the mountain ascent," she explained.

"She was asked her to go back, without accompaniment. Then the vessel left, reportedly without conducting a passenger count.

"At some stage in that chain of events, or shortly after, mother died, alone."

Company Response

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

He said that the company was "very regretful that this has happened" and had extended its total backing to the relatives.

Shipping Sector Procedures

The vessel accommodates up to 120 travelers with 46 staff, according to corporate data. It was purpose-built to enter remote locations of Australia's coastline and is equipped with "tenders" - small boats used to ferry travelers on shore trips.

Occurrences of this nature are infrequent, and passenger vessels have procedures to document which individuals are boarding or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship simply isn't an option," a specialist commented.

Vessel operators take these procedures extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to prevent such events from occurring," the specialist continued.

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