Overview
- About 123 people, including 43 crew, were aboard when the NRMA-owned vessel struck a reef near Finschhafen early on December 27.
- Passengers were transferred off the grounded ship to a smaller boat in Lae and took a 2.5‑hour charter flight to Cairns, with no injuries reported.
- A large tug from Lae refloated the vessel after more than three days on the reef, and the ship is now at a nearby anchorage for assessment.
- AMSA detained the Coral Adventurer on reasonable suspicion it was not seaworthy and cited possible safety management shortcomings pending inspections.
- The ATSB quarantined the voyage data recorder, is collecting tracking, weather and maintenance records, and will interview the captain and crew in PNG, as local authorities point to strong currents in an area operators typically avoid; a separate probe continues into the October death of passenger Suzanne Rees.