KEY POINTS:
A woman who says she was raped by another passenger on a luxury cruise says she is frustrated that no one is taking control of an investigation.
It is 11 days since the 46-year-old from Auckland was found in her cabin, in shock and with bruising.
But police in Noumea, New Zealand and Australia are pointing the finger at each other over who is in charge of the investigation into what happened on the Pacific Star.
Speaking from her home yesterday, the woman told the Herald she did not want to talk about the incident.
But she said she was "frustrated" by the apparent lack of action since.
"I just don't know what's going on. I've heard nothing," she said.
The case should be a warning to thousands of New Zealanders who head off on cruises each year, said a cruise crime victims advocacy group last night.
The P&O cruise liner was at Lifou Island in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands when the woman was found.
She told local police she had been raped by a man she was drinking with, and admitted being drunk.
The man said what happened was consensual.
P&O spokeswoman Sandy Olsen said the company did everything by the book - the allegations were reported to authorities in Noumea as well as police in Australia, New Zealand and Britain, where the ship is registered.
The pair were flown to their respective homes only after being cleared to leave by Noumea police, she said.
Police in Noumea referred Herald inquiries to the New Caledonia High Commission. Michele Lajus, commission spokeswoman, said New Zealand police were in charge of the inquiry.
Interpol, the international police agency, also said to contact New Zealand police for comment.
But Detective Inspector Bruce Shadbolt, head of the Auckland CIB, said New Zealand police had no jurisdiction.
Detectives here had spoken to the woman but their only role was to pass information back to their counterparts in Noumea, he said.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Australian federal police told the Herald Australian authorities had nothing to do with the inquiry, and had not spoken to the accused man.
Mark Brimble, vice-president of the International Cruise Victim Association, said the woman's case was an example of the risk every person who stepped on a cruise ship took.
"We've been saying it for years - we should not have the authorities trying to work out jurisdiction after the event.
"That needs to be worked out before anyone gets on board. Otherwise we will keep seeing these sorts of horrible things going uninvestigated."
The rape claims are among a series of incidents on the high seas.
Two Australian sex offenders have been thrown off P&O liners in the past fortnight. P&O has struggled to rebuild its reputation after the high-profile death of Mr Brimble's former wife, Dianne Brimble, on one of its ships in September 2002.
