Coral Adventurer crisis: Cruise ship evacuated after vessel ran aground, just months after Suzanne Rees death
The Australian cruise ship Coral Adventurer, which left an elderly woman on Lizard Island, was forced to evacuate all passengers at sea off the coast of Papua New Guinea.
The ship left Cairns on 18 December with 123 people on board, 80 passengers and 43 crew.
On Saturday morning, the ship ran aground and collided with a reef about 30 kilometers off the coast of Lae, north of Port Moresby.
This was followed by an emergency evacuation, with the PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Center stepping in, boarding the ship and assisting in removing the passengers safely from the ship.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said passengers and crew were safe.
A spokesperson for Coral Adventurer said when the emergency occurred: “The incident has been reported to authorities and will undergo further formal inspection of the hull and marine environment as standard procedure.”
It is not yet known whether the passengers and crew will return to land.
The NRMA-owned ship has sailed again with paying customers following the shocking death of 80-year-old passenger grandmother Suzanne Rees.
The 80-year-old grandmother was on a Coral Adventurer ship in October; he had paid $80,000 for it before the cruise ship left him alone on Lizard Island.
Rees had gone for a walk on Lizard Island but was later found dead after being left behind.
