The Australian cruise ship Coral Adventurer is currently stranded off the coast of Papua New Guinea after hitting a reef on Saturday morning. Australian officials have detained the ship due to concerns about its safety and seaworthiness.
The 93.4-meter long passenger ship ran aground near Dregerhafen Point, about 90 kilometers from Lae, PNG, around 5:25 AM local time. At the time, there were 123 people aboard, including 80 passengers and 43 crew members.
Fortunately, there have been no reports of injuries, and initial checks suggested there was no water entering the ship. However, it is still uncertain how much damage the vessel has sustained as efforts to refloat it continue.
According to a spokesperson for Coral Expeditions, “All passengers and crew are safe. An initial inspection indicates no damage to the vessel.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has started an investigation into the grounding incident. Initial attempts to refloat the ship using its engines failed, leading to the decision to hire a towing company. Reports indicate the ship was tilted about 6 degrees to the left.
On Monday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) detained the Coral Adventurer under the Navigation Act 2012. This action was taken due to a "reasonable suspicion" that the ship is not seaworthy and that there were shortcomings in its safety management system.
AMSA is collaborating with the ship's operator, its classification society, and the National Maritime Safety Authority of Papua New Guinea to address the situation.
The ATSB has secured data from the ship's voyage recorder and is gathering more evidence, including ship tracking, weather conditions, and crew maintenance records. The bureau plans to visit the vessel for interviews and to gather evidence when appropriate and expects to release a preliminary report in about two months.
Local police in Papua New Guinea reported that the ship faced strong sea currents while heading toward Madang Province and the Sepik River. Authorities are also looking for any potential damage to coral reefs in the area.
This incident comes just two months after the Coral Adventurer was involved in another investigation by AMSA following the death of an 80-year-old tourist on Lizard Island in October. That investigation is looking into why the passenger may not have been properly accounted for during boarding.
The Coral Adventurer is one of three ships operated by Coral Expeditions, which is owned by NRMA. The vessel was completed in 2019 and is registered in Cairns.
AMSA has confirmed that it did not receive a distress call from the ship but is monitoring the situation and is ready to assist PNG authorities if needed.