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A two-month voyage circling the Land Down Under has been cancelled following the tragic passing of an older female passenger who was abandoned by the ship on a isolated island.

The passenger had been walking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the vessel, but separated from the party for a rest. The liner left without her and came back after some time after the ship staff became aware the woman was missing.

A major search operation found her remains the next day.

Investigative bodies are looking into the event, together with investigators and the state coroner.

The CEO of the shipping company said that travelers and personnel on the vessel were notified that the rest of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and prior mechanical issues".

Via official communication, he mentioned that travelers would be provided a total repayment, and said the operator was working "to coordinate the homeward trips of the individuals via private aircraft".

Authorities also released an revised communication, and said they had "delivered a notice to the Captain" banning any further travelers from entering the vessel.

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

Timeline of Incidents

The ship initially left the Australian port on 24 October, and was merely two days into the expedition at the point of the 80-year-old's passing. The remote island was the initial destination on the voyage.

Passengers on board - who usually pay tens of thousands of currency to take part in the cruise - were taken there for a daily excursion with the possibility of walking or snorkeling.

Next of Kin Response

The child of the deceased woman said that her relatives was "surprised and grieved that the liner left the island after an scheduled tour without my mother".

Via her announcement, she characterized her mum as an "active octogenarian" who was a participant of a walking group.

"From the little details we have been provided, it appears that there was a failure of responsibility and basic judgment," she said.

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

"Based on information from the police that it was a very hot afternoon, and mum took sick on the hill climb," she revealed.

"She was asked her to head down, alone. Then the vessel left, seemingly without performing a passenger count.

"At a certain moment in that chain of events, or not long after, mother succumbed, by herself."

Operator Position

In a statement, the CEO affirmed that the operator was "collaborating extensively with officials to assist their inquiry".

He mentioned that the company was "very regretful that this has transpired" and had provided its full support to the loved ones.

Maritime Business Procedures

The ship serves up to a hundred twenty passengers with 46 staff, according to official details. It was specifically designed to access distant locations of Australia's coast and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - minor craft used to ferry travelers on land visits.

Occurrences such as this are uncommon, and liners have protocols to track which travelers are embarking or disembarking, according to industry experts.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] on the ship simply isn't an option," a specialist commented.

Vessel operators take these procedures extremely carefully and have "clever tech in place to avoid such incidents from happening," the specialist added.

"This is presumably a surprising - and tragic - single occurrence."