The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has confirmed it has detained Coral Expeditions’ Coral Adventurer to determine her safety to sail after running aground on a coral reef in the waters of Papua New Guinea late last month.
The incident saw 80 guests forced to take a smaller vessel to PNG and charter flight to Cairns after initial efforts to release the ship were unsuccessful.
Cruise Weekly has since confirmed that passengers who had their sailings cut short aboard Adventurer have been offered full refunds.
In a statement posted by the AMSA about the troubled vessel, it noted a “reasonable suspicion” that Adventurer was not currently seaworthy due to the potential damage sustained during the recent grounding.
If it turns out the ship has sustained serious damage, it would run counter to initial statements made by Coral that she escaped relatively unscathed from the unfortunate incident in late December.
The AMSA also stated there is a chance the vessel is “sub‑standard as a result of failures in the implementation of its Safety Management System under the International Safety Management Code”.
Adventurer currently remains anchored in Papua New Guinean waters while it undergoes a thorough safety inspection.
The grounding is a another serious blow for Coral, with the incident occurring in the vessel’s first sailing since the death of an 80‑year‑old passenger who was inadvertently left behind on Lizard Island during a guided hike, prompting an AMSA investigation into the cruise line’s procedures.
