Cruise ship runs aground on first trip since passenger's death

Sunday, 28 December 2025 07:53

The Coral Adventurer ran into trouble during its first trip back at sea, two months after the death of an 80-year-old passenger on Lizard Island.

An embattled Cairns-based cruise ship has run aground while sailing around the South Pacific.

The vessel ran into trouble on Saturday morning, during its first trip back at sea after the death of an 80-year-old passenger on Lizard Island in October.

Australian-flagged vessel, the Coral Adventurer, hit a coral reef and ran aground off the Papua New Guinea coast, stuck around 30 kilometres from the city of Lae.

Crew alerted relevant authorities around 6am.

9News understands there are 123 people on board the luxury cruise ship, including 80 passengers and 43 crew.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in a statement "there are no injuries among the passengers and crew onboard".

The PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre also confirmed an officer has boarded the vessel and is assisting with the incident.

Crews were waiting for high tide to help re-float the ship, to assess if there's any damage.

It's been troubled waters for the luxury cruise ship that's already navigated a turbulent two months after it made headlines in October.

Suzanne Rees, an 80-year-old New South Wales tourist, was found dead on remote Lizard Island several hours after being left behind by the Coral Adventurer.

The tragedy ultimately sparked several investigations, including by the AMSA and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, which remains ongoing.

This latest 12-night cruise, which costs $13,280 per person, departed from Cairns on December 18, reaching Papua New Guinea last Saturday on December 20.

It's then been cruising up the coastline over the past week before this latest bungle happened on December 27.

Passengers were due to disembark on December 30.

Coral Expeditions responded on Saturday evening, saying an initial inspection has found no damage to the vessel and further investigations will be undertaken.

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