Cruise ship hits reef on first trip since leaving passenger on island

The Coral Adventurer is currently the subject of a joint investigation by AMSA and Queensland Police, after the death of Suzanne Rees, the 80-year-old passenger who was found dead on Lizard Island on 26 October.
Ms Rees had been hiking on the island with fellow passengers, but broke off from the group for a rest.
The ship left without her and returned several hours later after the crew realised the woman was missing.
A major search operation found her body the following day.
The ship was just two days into a 60-day voyage at the time of Ms Rees’s death. The remainder of the cruise was cancelled with full refunds offered to all passengers.
The CEO of Coral Expeditions, Mark Fifield, said that the company was “deeply sorry that this has occurred” and had offered its full support to the Rees family.
Fifield added that the cruise operator was “working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support their investigation”.
AMSA was not able to comment on the status of the investigation, and told the BBC that it was “not in the practice of making the results of its investigations public”.



