Coral Expeditions’ Coral Adventurer has run aground in Papua New Guinea on Saturday, according to a report by the BBC.

According to the news source, the expedition vessel became stuck on a reef off the eastern coast of the archipelago with over 80 guests and 40 crew members onboard.

Offering an expedition cruise in the South Pacific, the 120-passenger vessel was reportedly transiting through Morobe, Madang and Sepik provinces when it hit strong sea currents and sailed onto the reef.

Morobe’s Police Commander Chief Superintendent Samson Siguyaru told the ABC’s Pacific Beat TV program that the ship was on a six-degree list to port side on Monday.

After inspecting the ship, authorities determined that there was no damage onboard and that the accident did not generate any spillage or pollution.

Siguyaru told the ABC that the Coral Adventurer was still being detained until additional processes are cleared, meaning it is temporarily considered unseaworthy.

As a result, Coral Expeditions decided to end the ship’s cruise one day earlier and fly guests back to Australia.

Passengers had boarded the vessel at the port of Cairns, in Northern Australia, on December 18, 2025, for a 12-day expedition.

It is currently unclear if additional departures scheduled for the 2019-built ship will be affected by the incident.

The BBC reported that attempts to free the ship using its own engines and a tugboat on Saturday were unsuccessful.

Morobe’s provincial governor, Rainbo Paita, told the ABC that the Coral Adventurer was sailing through a route not usually used by local operators at the time of the grounding. He was quoted as saying that the area is known to have “very high” reefs.

The ship is currently stuck around 30 kilometers away from Lae, the second largest city in Papua New Guinea.