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A two-month journey through the Australian Coast has been cancelled in the wake of the tragic passing of an elderly lady who was stranded by the vessel on a distant island.

The elderly woman had been hiking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the vessel, but separated from the group for a pause. The ship sailed away leaving her and came back after some time after the personnel became aware the passenger was unaccounted for.

A large-scale hunt found her remains the next day.

Officials are examining the tragedy, in coordination with law enforcement and the state coroner.

Chief Executive of the shipping company stated that guests and personnel on the ship were notified that the remainder of the voyage had been called off due to the "sad loss and earlier technical problems".

Through an announcement, he mentioned that passengers would be provided a total repayment, and said the operator was working "to organize the travel back of the individuals via chartered flights".

Regulatory bodies also issued an revised statement, and said they had "provided a directive to the Captain" prohibiting any additional guests from getting on the ship.

The official said that they would inspect the ship in Cairns upon its arrival.

Sequence of Incidents

The vessel first departed the coastal city on October 24th, and was merely two days into the voyage at the moment of the senior passenger's death. The remote island was the initial destination on the voyage.

Passengers on the ship - who usually pay large sums of money to participate in the expedition - were ferried there for a day trip with the possibility of walking or underwater exploration.

Family Statement

The child of the deceased woman said that her family was "surprised and grieved that the vessel left the location after an scheduled outing without my mother".

Through her comments, she characterized her mother as an "energetic 80-year-old" who was a affiliate of a bushwalking organization.

"According to scant details we have been told, it seems that there was a breakdown of responsibility and ordinary reasoning," she stated.

She added that she desired the investigation would be able to identify what "the organization should have undertaken that might have preserved Mother's existence".

"According to reports from the investigators that it was a exceptionally warm day, and mother took sick on the mountain ascent," she explained.

"Officials suggested her to go back, unescorted. Then the vessel left, apparently without conducting a headcount.

"At a certain moment in that process, or not long after, mother passed away, by herself."

Company Response

In a statement, the CEO verified that the operator was "cooperating fully with officials to support their inquiry".

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

Maritime Business Standards

The ship caters for up to 120 guests with nearly fifty crew, according to official data. It was specially constructed to access isolated regions of the nation's coast and is equipped with "small boats" - minor craft used to take passengers on land visits.

Occurrences such as this are rare, and cruise ships have systems to track which travelers are boarding or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard just isn't an choice," an authority stated.

Vessel operators take these procedures very seriously and have "advanced technology in place to avoid such incidents from occurring," the authority further stated.

"This is probably a shocking - and unfortunate - isolated incident."