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An extensive two-month cruise through the Land Down Under has been cancelled following the fatal incident of an older woman who was stranded by the vessel on a remote island.

Suzanne Rees had been trekking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the cruise ship, but broke off from the group for a rest. The ship sailed away leaving her and went back several hours later after the personnel discovered the lady was unaccounted for.

An extensive search operation found her body the next day.

Authorities are looking into the tragedy, alongside law enforcement and the official investigator.

Chief Executive of the shipping company announced that guests and staff on the vessel were told that the remainder of the cruise had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and prior mechanical issues".

Through an announcement, he further stated that travelers would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to organize the travel back of the individuals via specially arranged planes".

Regulatory bodies also published an latest announcement, and said they had "delivered a order to the Master" preventing any additional guests from getting on the liner.

The representative said that they would visit the liner in the Australian city upon its arrival.

Chronology of Events

The liner first departed the Australian port on the 24th of October, and was just two days into the journey at the moment of the senior passenger's death. The tropical location was the first stop on the itinerary.

Passengers on the vessel - who usually pay large sums of dollars to take part in the voyage - were taken there for a shore visit with the possibility of trekking or underwater exploration.

Relatives Response

The daughter of the victim said that her relatives was "shocked and grieved that the vessel left the island after an organised excursion without my mother".

Via her announcement, she described her mum as an "vigorous elderly person" who was a member of a bushwalking organization.

"Based on limited information we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She added that she desired the inquiry would be able to pinpoint what "the operator should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's being".

"Based on information from the authorities that it was a very hot period, and she took sick on the uphill trek," she explained.

"They requested her to go back, unescorted. Then the ship sailed away, apparently without doing a passenger count.

"At some stage in that process, or not long after, mum succumbed, by herself."

Company Position

Through an announcement, the Head affirmed that the organization was "collaborating extensively with investigators to assist their inquiry".

He said that the company was "deeply sorry that this has occurred" and had offered its total backing to the relatives.

Cruise Industry Standards

The liner serves up to one hundred twenty passengers with forty-six crew, according to company information. It was specially constructed to enter distant areas of the nation's coast and is equipped with "small boats" - compact vessels used to take travelers on land visits.

Occurrences such as this are uncommon, and passenger vessels have protocols to document which travelers are getting on or disembarking, according to industry experts.

"Sneaking ashore or [back] aboard really isn't an option," one expert commented.

Shipping companies regard these processes extremely carefully and have "clever tech in place to prevent such occurrences from taking place," the specialist added.

"This appears to be presumably a surprising - and tragic - isolated incident."