The tragic case of Suzanne Rees and what investigators will be looking for on Coral Adventurer

• The case of Suzanne Rees has made international headlines and posed questions about adventure and expedition cruising.
• She died on Lizard Island after allegedly being told to walk down a hiking trail alone.
• She was sailing on the Coral Adventurer. Here’s what maritime investigators will be looking for.

“This is not a holiday – it’s an expedition. Out here, we are at the mercy of the elements.”

If you’ve been on an expedition or adventure cruise, you may well be familiar with those words. I heard them first from a captain in Antarctica. They apply to just about any cruise which involves terrain that is demanding.

Whether the captain of Coral Adventurer used similar words at the start of the vessel’s 60-day circumnavigation of Australia is yet to emerge.

But investigators from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) will undoubtedly be examining every aspect of procedures aboard the six-year-old vessel to try and establish exactly how an 80-year-old passenger came to be left behind on Lizard Island.

There are four investigations now going on into the death of Suzanne Rees. It’s believed that AMSA, the state coroner, WorkSafe Queensland and Queensland State Police are all looking into the tragedy.

Among the many questions investigators will want answered are:

1. What are the ship’s headcount procedures?  Given that the ship left without Suzanne Rees onboard and this error wasn’t noticed for some hours, investigators will want to know the ship’s headcount procedures and will need to determine how this process broke down on this occasion.

2. Was the ship adequately staffed? The investigators will also likely look at staffing of the ship, and determine if the ship has enough crew onboard, if crew members are adequately trained in the safety procedures. At least one media outlet has carried anonymous claims about staffing on board the ship. 

3. Were general safety procedures while on shore excursions adequate? Rees was allegedly told to go down the hiking trail alone, despite being an elderly woman in extreme heat who was reporting illness. Investigators will be examining safety protocols and staff training.

Coral Expeditions website says: “Our crew is the heart of everything we do at Coral Expeditions, and we work hard to ensure we hire the best people to deliver the best possible expedition experience.

“When you board a Coral Ship, you become a part of our life on board, enjoying the passion, knowledge, curiosity, and a thirst for adventure we all share. Our standards of service can best be described as above and beyond; from warm welcomes and great conversation to attention to detail and genuine care, which drives us to ensure you have the best possible expedition with us.

“Our ships are Australian-flagged, which means all our crew are hired as Australian employees, enjoying the same entitlements and workplace standards as those working ashore. We are committed to providing opportunities and career pathways for young mariners and have been doing so successfully for decades.”

Of the expedition crew, the website says: “Expedition Leaders partner with the Captain to deliver each day’s program. Adventurous, knowledgeable, and deeply expert in the regions we explore, they’re always available to answer questions and bring you up close and personal with every destination.”

It was on Saturday that 80-year-old Suzanne Rees joined a hiking tour to Cook’s Look summit on Lizard Island as part of her Coral Expeditions cruise. Temperatures were reportedly as high as 50 degrees as the group was hiking.

According to her daughter, Rees felt unwell and was allegedly told to return down the trail herself and wait. She would then lose the trail on her way down and unfortunately, pass away. 

This happened at about 1pm, however, Rees wasn’t reported missing until about 6pm, five hours later, according to reports.

After she was reported missing, authorities found her body about 50 metres off the trail.

Traci Ayris, a yachtie who was sailing in the area spoke to the ABC.

“We knew that someone was missing and then we saw the Coral Adventurer heading back to Lizard [Island] on our AIS tracker.

“When it arrived [between 1am and 2am on Sunday] they sent a crew of seven to shore with torches. They searched until about 3am, then the search was called off until first light, when the chopper would return.”

At the time Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield said: “While investigations into the incident are continuing, we are deeply sorry that this has occurred and are offering our full support to the woman’s family.

“The Coral team has been in contact with the woman’s family, and we will continue to offer support to them through this difficult process.”

Rees’s body would be recovered by rescue services.

The daughter speaks out 

Katherine Rees, Suzanne’s daughter, spoke to the press, saying that the family were unhappy with the circumstances of the death and felt that it was a “failure of common sense” in how the situation was dealt with.

“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb. She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mum died, alone.

“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of common sense.”

The family said they were “shocked and saddened” at how the events unfolded.

Katherin Rees said: “I hope that the coronial inquiry will find out what the company should have done that might have saved Mum’s life”.

Katherine Rees, where she said: “We still don’t know how long the Coral Adventurer had been under way before they decided she was missing, how long they took to return to the island, or what they did when they arrived.

“We were told by Queensland Police that the captain of the vessel refused to speak to the search and rescue co-ordinator”.

Coral Expeditions disputed the claim that the captain had not talked to the police.

A spokesman said: “That is not correct”.

AMSA makes statement

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority confirmed that it would be investigating the case.

The agency said: “AMSA will make an assessment as to whether there was any non-compliance associated with the passenger not being counted onto the ship and, if necessary, will take action to address them.”

This would also see AMSA put an order on the ship for no new passengers to board, and the AMSA investigators boarded the ship as soon as it arrived back in Cairns. 

The agency said it would be interviewing crew members and reviewing the ship’s procedures and logs when it boarded the ship, for example, AMSA will be assessing the headcount procedures and the staffing level of the ship.

Ship reports mechanical problems

The ship allegedly “had big problems” before it began the cruise. 

An anonymous source told ABC: “The reason why they were a week late to depart was because there was something wrong with the engine.

“And then it happened again on the trip after the poor lady died.”

The rest of the cruise has been cancelled 

Last week, Coral Expeditions announced rest of the cruise would be cancelled, and that passengers would be assisted in flying back to their respective cities.

Chief Executive Officer of Coral Expeditions Mark Fifield said Coral Expeditions is about “delivering high quality-experiences to our guests” and “It was increasingly apparent, given the circumstances of the last week, that we could not deliver on this promise.”

There were about 100 passengers onboard who had their cruise cut short, each paying upwards of $50,000 for the cruise, with amounts varying depending on their cabin category.

NRMA steps in

The Australian reported that NRMA would be helping Rees’s family, but it wasn’t completely clear how they would be assisting the investigations or providing support to the family.

NRMA owns Coral Expeditions.

A spokesman said: “We are working closely with Coral. Our priorities have been supporting the Rees family, passengers and crew, and cooperating with the ongoing investigations”.

NRMA chair Derek Stanwell told The Nightly: “The death of Ms Rees was devastating. I feel a heavy sadness that a trip that should have been a source of joy and adventure ended so tragically.

“On behalf of the entire NRMA and Coral Expeditions communities, we are deeply sorry”.

What comes next?

With investigators having already boarded the ship, the family will be hoping for answers on what went wrong in safety procedures for something like this to happen.

There is no indication on how public the results of the investigations will be, though it is likely a coroner will hold an inquest into the death of Suzanne Rees and AMSA will file a report on safety aboard the vessel.