The cruise ship Coral Adventurer ran aground on a reef off the coast of Papua New Guinea after a chain of navigation-related events began with an ECDIS route activation problem during its approach to port. The details were outlined in a factual summary released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
The incident occurred on the morning of 27 December 2025 as the vessel was approaching the small port of Dregerhafen on the country’s remote northeastern coast. The approach is considered challenging, with reefs on both sides and areas of water that are not fully surveyed, requiring vessels to make two sharp turns before entering the harbor.
At the start of the watch, the chief officer, who was conning the vessel, adjusted the route in the ship’s ECDIS in order to smooth out the second of the two turns. The revised route still matched the intended passage plan, but included an additional waypoint. When the final port approach began, the officer selected the modified route and attempted to activate it, but the ECDIS would not allow activation until a digital safety check had been completed.
As a result, the chief officer had to deal with the route verification process in the middle of the transit. During this period, Coral Adventurer missed the first wheel-over point and failed to turn to port as planned, taking the vessel toward unsurveyed and potentially hazardous waters north of the intended track. The officer then switched to manual steering and made a sharper turn to bring the ship back onto course.
Although the vessel returned to the planned track, strong current in the entrance channel reduced its speed. To compensate, the chief officer increased power on both thrusters and later switched the vessel back to autopilot before the second turn. However, the ship again missed the next turning point, prompting another return to manual steering and a hard turn to starboard in an attempt to recover the route.
The ATSB summary states that the chief officer later told investigators he had lost situational awareness at that stage. In darkness and without clear visual reference points, he no longer had an accurate understanding of the vessel’s position relative to the surrounding waters. Believing the ship had rejoined the intended track, he continued maneuvering, but Coral Adventurer crossed the course line at more than 8 knots and continued toward shallow water.
At 05:24, the master arrived on the bridge and visually identified shallow water ahead. Around 15 seconds later, the vessel grounded. By 05:25:30, Coral Adventurer had come to a stop from a speed of 8.5 knots.
Subsequent dive inspections found that the hull had not been breached and the propulsion system remained intact. An initial attempt to refloat the vessel with a tug was unsuccessful after the tug’s engines overheated during the operation. A larger tug was later dispatched, and Coral Adventurer was successfully refloated on 30 December.
The report released by the ATSB is a factual summary only and does not yet assign formal cause. The investigation into the grounding remains ongoing.
