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A cruise ship that ran aground off Papua New Guinea has been “detained” out of concern it’s unseaworthy “due to potential damage”, amid an investigation into how it became stuck on Saturday morning.
The Coral Adventurer remained stuck on a reef off the north coast of Papua New Guinea, about 30km from PNG’s second-largest city, Lae, on Tuesday, as efforts to refloat it continue.
No injuries have been reported to the ship’s 80 passengers and 43 crew. The passengers were due to travel back to Australia on a chartered flight to Cairns on Tuesday.
Agencies in PNG and Australia have launched investigations into the grounding, with the ship “detained”.
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The country’s acting police commissioner, Samson Kua, said formal detention orders were issued for the ship to remain in PNG waters “until all formalities are cleared”. The National Maritime Safety Authority, which is investigating the grounding, will issue a clearance letter to the ship’s captain once it can leave PNG waters, Kua said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it was also looking into the matter.
“AMSA has detained the vessel in accordance with the Navigation Act 2012, based on reasonable suspicion that it is not seaworthy due to potential damage sustained during the grounding, and that it is sub‑standard as a result of failures in the implementation of its Safety Management System under the International Safety Management Code,” the spokesperson said.
“AMSA is working closely with the Operator, the vessel’s Classification Society and the National Maritime Safety Authority-PNG.”
Since the accident, Coral Expeditions, the company which operates the vessel, has consistently told media that “initial inspections indicate no damage to the vessel”.
A spokesperson said further comprehensive inspections of the hull and marine environment will be conducted once the vessel is refloated. This is a standard procedure for grounded vessels.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has also started an investigation into how the Coral Adventurer ran aground on the reef, with a spokesperson saying “the extent of any damage to the ship’s hull is not known but water ingress is not reported”.
A preliminary report by the ATSB is expected in about two months, unless a critical safety issue is identified during the investigation, which would lead to a quicker response.
Coral Expeditions cancelled the rest of the tour for its passengers on Monday.
Further attempts to refloat the ship will be undertaken on Tuesday. A tug was dispatched to assist on Sunday.
The ship was already under investigation as a result of a separate and unrelated incident on a previous voyage. A passenger, Suzanne Rees, died after being allegedly left behind on an excursion in October.
The 80-year-old from Sydney was allegedly left on Lizard Island, where she was found dead after a subsequent search.
