South Australia’s Murray Queen has been placed into administration, and is currently understood to be working with Captain Cook Cruises to possibly swap its passengers over to the Murray Princess.

Operators of the collapsed business attributed part of its demise to the fact that many tourists have been staying away from the area due to the misconception that the Murray is running close to dry.

“We were very sad to learn today that the “Murray Queen” business has been placed in administration,” said Nick Hortle, Captain Cook Cruises CEO.

“We have been in contact with the administrator of Murray Queen and will offer them every assistance so that tourists who intended to visit the Murray River can still have an outstanding experience.”

Mr Hortle says that while Captain Cook Cruises has also seen some weaker numbers on its Murray Princess riverboat, it assures the industry that it was still operating on “sound footing”.

While water levels are low, the river is not “dry” and riverboats are still able to navigate along certain sections.

“The low water levels in some respects are a positive and present the river in a completely different way to what is usually the case. This includes the exposure of historic roadways and bridges that have been submerged for many years and increasingly dramatic backdrops on the river banks,” he adds.

The Murray River Queen had originally been built in 1974 and up until recently had been offering two and four night river cruises.