Chart System Delay Cited in Coral Adventurer Grounding at Dregerhafen

An Australian flagged expedition vessel, identified in reporting as the Coral Adventurer, ran aground on a reef north of Nussing Island near Dregerhafen, Papua New Guinea, at 0525 on 27 Dec 2025, according to a preliminary report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The 306 foot vessel was carrying 80 passengers and 44 crew on a 12 night cruise from Cairns and was making a sunrise approach through a channel with a maximum navigable width of about 395 feet. The report found that the chief mate had edited the ship's planned route overnight to smooth a sharp turn, splitting a 100 degree course change into two shorter legs. The modified route could not be activated until a required safety check was completed, and during that delay the vessel passed the waypoint for its planned turn to port while still on its previous course. The chief mate then switched to manual steering to regain the track, but subsequent turns overshot further, and the master, arriving on the bridge, warned the ship was heading toward shallow water shortly before it struck the reef at about 8.5 knots. The vessel came to rest roughly 525 feet off its planned track, heeled about six degrees to port, with hull indentation and some structural deformation but no injuries. After refloating attempts initially failed, all 80 passengers disembarked on 30 Dec 2025 and were transferred by boat to Lae before a charter flight to Australia. The vessel was refloated shortly afterward. The ATSB said its preliminary findings are factual only, with no formal conclusions yet issued. Investigators are examining crew workload and watch schedules, with a final report expected in 12 to 18 months.