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An extensive 60-day journey circling the Australian Coast is being halted days after the death of an elderly woman who was stranded by the ship on a remote island.

The elderly woman had been trekking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the cruise ship, but separated from the excursion for a break. The ship departed without her and returned later that day after the ship staff became aware the passenger was unaccounted for.

A large-scale search operation located her body the next day.

Investigative bodies are examining the event, in coordination with law enforcement and the state coroner.

Chief Executive of the shipping company announced that travelers and staff on the vessel were informed that the continuation of the voyage had been terminated due to the "sad loss and previous technical problems".

Via official communication, he mentioned that travelers would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to arrange the travel back of the individuals via private aircraft".

Regulatory bodies also published an revised statement, and said they had "provided a directive to the Commander" prohibiting any additional guests from boarding the vessel.

The representative said that they would attend the liner in Cairns upon its return.

Sequence of Occurrences

The ship initially left Cairns on October 24th, and was merely two days into the voyage at the moment of the 80-year-old's demise. The remote island was the opening port on the voyage.

Guests on board - who usually pay substantial amounts of money to take part in the voyage - were taken there for a day trip with the choice of walking or snorkeling.

Family Reaction

The offspring of the victim said that her relatives was "shocked and saddened that the vessel left the island after an organised outing without my mum".

Via her announcement, she portrayed her mum as an "energetic elderly person" who was a affiliate of a walking organization.

"Based on limited details we have been informed, it looks that there was a failure of care and basic judgment," she said.

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

"Based on information from the authorities that it was a extremely warm day, and mother became unwell on the uphill trek," she stated.

"Officials suggested her to go back, alone. Then the boat sailed away, reportedly without doing a roll call.

"At a certain moment in that process, or not long after, mother died, without company."

Operator Response

In a statement, the Chief Executive affirmed that the company was "cooperating fully with investigators to support their investigation".

He mentioned that the firm was "deeply sorry that this has occurred" and had offered its total backing to the loved ones.

Maritime Business Procedures

The ship caters for up to 120 guests with forty-six crew, according to corporate details. It was specially constructed to reach distant locations of the nation's coast and is outfitted with "small boats" - small boats used to take individuals on shore trips.

Incidents of this nature are rare, and cruise ships have procedures to track which individuals are boarding or leaving, according to industry experts.

"Sneaking ashore or [back] aboard really isn't an choice," an authority stated.

Vessel operators take these processes very seriously and have "advanced technology in place to avoid such incidents from happening," the specialist further stated.

"This is probably a surprising - and sad - single occurrence."