Passengers aboard Coral Adventurer, an Australian cruise ship that ran aground on a reef off Papua New Guinea, are set to leave the country on a charter flight after all attempts to refloat the vessel proved unsuccessful.
The ship struck the reef on Saturday, roughly 90 kilometres from Lae, PNG's second-largest city and the capital of Morobe Province. Around 120 people were aboard the Cairns-based vessel at the time, including 80 passengers from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Israel, along with 43 crew. A company spokesperson confirmed there were no injuries among either passengers or crew.
The grounding comes just two months after the death of a passenger who was allegedly left behind by the company on a Great Barrier Reef island.
Local police told the ABC's Pacific Beat programme that Coral Adventurer had been transiting through Morobe, Madang and Sepik provinces, passing Dregerhafen Point at 5.30am local time, when it encountered strong sea currents and ran aground. Morobe's provincial governor, Rainbo Paita, told the ABC the ship had taken a route not typically used by local operators. "Local boat operators know the reef is very high there," he said.
Morobe Provincial Police Commander Chief Superintendent Samson Siguyaru confirmed that a tugboat attempted to pull the cruise ship free on Sunday but was unsuccessful. With refloating efforts having failed, the ship's operator, Coral Expeditions, announced on Monday that it would cut the tour short by a day and fly all passengers back to Australia, likely to Cairns, on a date still to be confirmed.
Paita said his provincial administration had been in contact with both the Australian High Commission and the cruise operator regarding the incident. "We are on stand-by in any way they need us to help in removing the boat," he said. The ABC approached Coral Expeditions for a response to Paita's comments about the route taken, but the company declined to comment.
In a statement, a Coral Expeditions spokesperson said initial inspections had found no damage to the vessel. "To date, initial inspections indicate no damage to the vessel, with further comprehensive inspections of the hull and marine environment to be conducted as standard procedure once the vessel is refloated," they said.
Coral Adventurer has been under investigation following the death of 80-year-old tourist Suzanne Rees on Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef in October, the second serious incident involving the ship in recent months. Rees was found dead on the island on Sunday, 26 October, after setting out the previous day on an escorted hike to the island's lookout. Her family said they were told she had felt unwell and turned back, but that no one had been with her to assist. Witnesses reported that Coral Adventurer departed Lizard Island on the evening of Saturday, 25 October, before returning late that night to conduct a search once Rees was discovered to be missing. Australian Maritime Safety Authority officers and a Coral Expeditions representative had boarded the ship's tender in October to investigate her death. Following Rees's death and additional mechanical problems, Coral Expeditions subsequently cancelled a 60-day voyage.
