The remains of a ship that disappeared 120 years ago with 32 people on board have been found/CSIRO
A 120-year-old mystery of a missing ship that disappeared without a trace off the coast of Australia has finally been solved - thanks to underwater explorers who stumbled upon it completely by chance.
The SS Nemesis was carrying coal to Melbourne, Australia, in July 1904, when she was caught in a severe storm off the coast of New South Wales and disappeared along with her 32 Australian, British and Canadian crew.
In the weeks following the storm, bodies of crew members and debris from the ship's wreckage washed ashore at Cronulla, about 29 kilometers south of Sydney.
This mystery created a media storm and aroused great public interest, but the remains of the ship, which was 75 meters long, were never found and its final "burial" place remains a mystery.
until this week
The New South Wales Department of Environment and Heritage confirmed earlier this month that the remains of the ship were found off the coast of the Sydney region, 25 kilometers from the coast and at a depth of about 525 feet under about 160 meters of water.) Subsea Professional Marine Services, a remote sensing company called CSIRO, Scanning the ocean floor off the coast of Sydney for a lost cargo in 2022, accidentally came across the missing shipwreck.
The remains of the ship were found intact and almost completely undamaged.
Maritime authorities believed that the sunken ship was indeed the SS Nemesis, but they had to use special underwater imaging to confirm that the unique features of the wreckage matched photographs and historical records of the freighter.
The photos revealed that the iron remains of the ship are lying upright on a sandy plain, with its bow and stern significantly damaged.
The discovery also revealed the cause of the sinking: her engine was flooded with water due to the storm.
Experts believe that the SS Nemesis began sinking at such a high speed after being hit by a huge wave that the crew did not have time to deploy lifeboats and try to escape.
In other similar cases
, a shipwreck was found with a treasure worth 20 billion dollars - only it is not clear who the treasure belongs
to
.
Check suitability for treatment
Israeli development: a scientific solution to body acne with over 90% success
In collaboration with Rivka Zaida Laboratories
This is what the remains of the ship look like
Phil Vandenbosch, CSIRO hydrographic surveyor, said: "Our visual inspection of the wreckage, using the surveillance camera, showed that several key structures on board the ship were still intact and identifiable, including two of her anchors lying on the seabed."
He added that additional video images would be "stitched together" to create a 3D model of the remains for further investigation.
"Around 40 children lost their parents in this disaster and I hope this discovery will bring closure to the families and friends who were connected to the ship's crew and never knew their fate," said NSW Environment and Heritage Minister Penny Sharp, who added that "the loss of the Nemesis has been described as one of the maritime mysteries Sydney's most enduring and even described by shipwreck researchers as their 'Holy Grail'."
"Thanks to working together with CSIRO and Subsea, using modern technology and cross-checking it with historical records, the Rebel Ministry was able to write the final chapter in the story of the SS Nemesis."
Australia's Science Minister Ed Husich also cheered the discovery and added that he hoped it would provide a net of comfort to the descendants of the 32 sailors who died aboard the SS Nemesis.
"Every Australian should note the curiosity and persistence our scientists have shown in this project, as they do in any work," he said.
According to experts' estimates, there are more than 200 shipwrecks in the depths of the sea off the coast of New South Wales, and so far less than half of them have been located.
More on the same topic:
ship
minting
Australia