A CSIRO crew aboard analysis vessel (RV) Investigator has helped Heritage NSW establish the SS Nemesis, a 73-meter iron-hulled steamship that was misplaced at sea in 1904.
SS Nemesis had been on a voyage from Newcastle to Melbourne carrying coal when it disappeared in a storm off the NSW coast with the lack of all 32 lives on board.
Its location was unknown till marine survey firm, Subsea Skilled Marine Companies, found and reported the uncharted wreck to Heritage NSW in Might 2022.
Subsea positioned the wreck throughout an underwater survey off Wollongong, NSW, and undertook an preliminary inspection of the location utilizing a remotely operated automobile.
CSIRO, Australia’s nationwide science company, was petitioned by Heritage NSW to analyze the wreck to collect additional information to assist in its identification.
RV Investigator was in a position to conduct an in depth seafloor mapping and digicam investigation of the wreck whereas on a transit voyage from Hobart to Sydney in September 2023.
The CSIRO crew used the vessel’s superior multibeam echosounders to first map the wreck website and surrounding seafloor in excessive decision.
They then performed a scientific visible inspection of all the wreck utilizing a specialised underwater drop digicam system.
Phil Vandenbossche, a CSIRO hydrographic surveyor on board the voyage, stated the seafloor mapping by RV Investigator exhibits the wreck is mendacity in 160 metres of water and is roughly 28 kilometres off the coast of Wollongong, NSW.
“The wreck is positioned in direction of the sting of the continental shelf and is sitting upright on the seafloor however is exhibiting important harm and deterioration at each the bow and stern,” Vandenbossche stated.
“Our visible inspection of the wreck utilizing the drop digicam confirmed some key buildings had been nonetheless intact and identifiable, together with two of the ship’s anchors mendacity on the seafloor.”
The bathymetry and digicam survey information from RV Investigator, together with the earlier imagery collected by Subsea, allowed Heritage NSW’s maritime archaeology specialists to establish the wreck because the SS Nemesis.
The SS Nemesis was initially a passenger vessel however was transformed and working as a coal provider when it disappeared.
The wreck of the SS Nemesis is protected as a historic shipwreck below the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018.
