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An extensive 60-day voyage around Australia has been cancelled days after the death of an elderly female passenger who was left behind by the cruise liner on a isolated island.

The passenger had been hiking on the tropical location with shipmates from the cruise ship, but separated from the group for a pause. The ship departed without her and came back after some time after the crew discovered the passenger was unaccounted for.

An extensive hunt located her body the following day.

Officials are investigating the event, in coordination with law enforcement and the medical examiner.

Head of the cruise operator announced that passengers and staff on the ship were notified that the remainder of the voyage had been called off due to the "sad loss and earlier mechanical issues".

Through an announcement, he mentioned that guests would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to organize the travel back of the individuals via private aircraft".

Officials also released an updated statement, and said they had "delivered a order to the Captain" banning any new passengers from boarding the vessel.

The spokesperson said that they would visit the vessel in the port city upon its coming back.

Chronology of Occurrences

The liner originally sailed from the Australian port on October 24th, and was only 48 hours into the expedition at the moment of the 80-year-old's passing. The tropical location was the first stop on the journey.

Guests on the vessel - who generally pay substantial amounts of dollars to join the expedition - were taken there for a daily excursion with the possibility of hiking or underwater exploration.

Next of Kin Response

The daughter of the elderly passenger said that her relatives was "surprised and distressed that the ship left the island after an scheduled tour without my mother".

Through her comments, she characterized her mother as an "energetic octogenarian" who was a participant of a hiking group.

"Based on limited facts we have been provided, it looks that there was a lapse of care and common sense," she said.

She further stated that she wished the inquiry would be able to determine what "the company should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's being".

"We understand from the authorities that it was a extremely warm day, and she fell ill on the uphill trek," she stated.

"Officials suggested her to return, without accompaniment. Then the boat left, seemingly without performing a headcount.

"At some stage in that process, or not long after, mother died, alone."

Operator Reaction

In a statement, the CEO verified that the operator was "working closely with investigators to aid their investigation".

He stated that the organization was "deeply sorry that this has occurred" and had provided its total backing to the relatives.

Maritime Business Procedures

The vessel serves up to a hundred twenty guests with nearly fifty crew, according to corporate information. It was specifically designed to enter isolated regions of Australia's shoreline and is fitted with "tenders" - minor craft used to take passengers on shore trips.

Events of this nature are rare, and passenger vessels have procedures to document which individuals are getting on or disembarking, according to industry experts.

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

Shipping companies take these processes very seriously and have "clever tech in place to avoid such incidents from occurring," the authority continued.

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