The Australian expedition cruise vessel Coral Adventurer remains aground on a reef off the coast of Papua New Guinea following unsuccessful attempts to refloat the ship, with arrangements now underway to return passengers to Australia ahead of schedule.
The vessel grounded on Saturday morning while operating near the Papua New Guinea coast, approximately 30 kilometres from Lae. At the time of the incident, Coral Adventurer was carrying 80 passengers and 44 crew. No injuries were reported, and passengers were subsequently transferred ashore in Papua New Guinea.
The grounding occurred on the ship’s first voyage since an earlier, unrelated incident in October that is currently under investigation, involving the death of a passenger who was reportedly left behind during an excursion. Authorities have not linked the two events, but the vessel was already subject to scrutiny when the grounding took place.
A tug was dispatched to the site on Sunday in an effort to free the ship. According to information available by Monday, refloating attempts had not succeeded, and the vessel remained resting on the reef. In response, operator Coral Expeditions decided to terminate the voyage, citing its inability to continue the cruise as planned.
The company indicated that all passengers would be repatriated via charter flight, with Cairns, the ship’s original port of departure on December 18th, identified as the return point. Flights were expected to begin as early as Tuesday. Coral Expeditions also confirmed that it continues to work with local authorities on plans to refloat the vessel.
Preliminary inspections carried out while the ship remains aground have not identified damage to the hull. The operator has stated that a full assessment of both the vessel and the surrounding marine environment will be conducted once Coral Adventurer is refloated, in line with standard procedures. The company further confirmed that no passengers or crew were injured during the incident.
Papua New Guinea’s National Maritime Safety Authority reported that it was notified of the grounding at approximately 6:57 a.m. local time on Saturday. At that point, the vessel was resting on a coral reef with a list of about six degrees to port. Initial observations indicated no visible damage, and contingency planning was underway should refloating attempts continue to prove unsuccessful.
The vessel remains under the oversight of local maritime authorities as recovery operations and further inspections are planned.
For more Coral Adventurer incidents and accidents, see the ship's CruiseMinus page.