A luxury cruise ship has become stranded off the coast of Papua New Guinea, carrying numerous passengers, just weeks after the same vessel left an Australian grandmother stranded on an island, resulting in her death.
The Coral Adventurer hit a reef approximately 30 kilometers from Lae, north of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, early Saturday morning at around 6 a.m.
Reports indicate that 80 passengers and 43 crew members have been evacuated from the ship, though it remains uncertain if they have been brought to shore yet.
A marine medical specialist mentioned that the possibility of refloating the vessel during high tide on Sunday largely depends on how securely the ship is lodged on the reef.
Dr. Paul Luckin, a medical advisor with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, assured on Weekend Sunrise that the 123 individuals aboard would have remained ‘perfectly safe’ provided they had adequate shelter, breathable air, and sufficient water and food.
An officer from the PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre is currently on the ship to aid the crew in handling the situation, and efforts to free the vessel from the reef will persist today.
The incident has sparked a fresh controversy for the vessel’s operators, Cairns-based Coral Expeditions, two months after its most recent voyage ended in tragedy.
‘All passengers and crew are safe,’ a spokesman told Daily Mail.
The Coral Adventurer cruise ship (above) ran aground off PNG on Saturday, just two months after an elderly passenger died when she was left behind on an island
The Coral Adventurer struck a reef about 30km off the coast of Lae, north of the PNG capital Port Moresby at about 6am on Saturday stranding around 123 people onboard
The cruise ship struck a reef off the coast of Lae (above)
‘An initial inspection indicates no damage to the vessel.
‘The incident has been reported to authorities and will undergo further official inspections to the hull and marine environment.’
The current voyage departed Cairns on December 18 and was due to end on December 30.
Passengers each forked out at least $13,280 for the 12-night voyage.
Coral Expeditions is still reeling from the death of NSW woman, Suzanne Rees, 80, who died after being left behind on Lizard Island in October during a stopover on a $80,000-a-ticket circumnavigation of Australia.
Ms Rees had been hiking to the summit of the Great Barrier Reef island’s highest peak but left the group to return to the ship after becoming too tired to continue.
Serious questions were raised about the five-hour delay in launching a search for the grandmother after she failed to reboard.
Multiple investigations by authorities into the tragedy continue.
Suzanne Rees, 80, died after being left behind on Lizard island during a Coral Adventurer cruise around Australia
Ms Rees’ grieving family have also demanded answers.
‘From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,’ her daughter Katherine said.
Dr Luckin said the latest incident on the Coral Adventurer was uncommon but not unknown.
‘One of the problems in waters like that is that there can be reefs that are uncharted, and with perfectly good navigation and perfectly good equipment, it is possible for a ship to hit an unchartered reef,’ he explained.
‘And reefs do of course change over time. There is of course a possibility of mechanical failure onboard with the navigation system or propulsion system but that’s pure speculation.’
Dr Luckin added that depending on whether the ship’s hull now had a hole in it from striking the reef, the operators may have to ‘leave the ship where it is’, or reduce its weight by pumping off bilge water.
