The embattled Cairns-based Coral Adventurer cruise ship that ran aground in the South Pacific has been detained by authorities as passengers are flown home.
The vessel hit a coral reef and became stuck off Papua New Guinea, about 30km from the city of Lae, early Saturday morning during its first trip out at sea after the death of a passenger.
None of the 80 passengers or 43 crew members were injured.
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The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has now detained the cruise ship due to suspicion that it is unseaworthy.
"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," it said in a statement.
Coral Adventurer had previously insisted that there was no indication that there was damage to the ship.
Today, passengers were ferried to the mainland before travelling home to Australia, via a chartered flight to Cairns.
Australian and PNG authorities had been working to re-float the cruise ship but efforts had been unsuccessful until earlier today.
It's no longer grounded with experts managing to move it off the reef today.
It's now anchored nearby and undergoing further inspections.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating and will conduct interviews and collect evidence.
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"In the meantime, data from the ship's voyage data recorder has been quarantined, and investigators are collecting other relevant recorded information, including ship tracking data, weather information, and crew, operator and maintenance records," the bureau said in a statement.
The 12-night cruise, costing $13,280 per person, departed from Cairns on December 18 and reached Papua New Guinea on December 20.
It was cruising up the coastline before it ran aground on Saturday.
Coral Adventurer has faced troubled waters after the death of 80-year-old NSW tourist Suzanne Rees in October.
The cruise ship left her behind during a luxury trip to the remote Lizard Island, where she was later found dead by police.
Investigations into that event are ongoing.
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