CSIRO Researchers Maps SS Nemesis Wreck Site

A CSIRO team aboard research vessel (RV) Investigator has helped Heritage NSW identify the SS Nemesis, a 73-meter iron-hulled steamship that was lost 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 loss of all 32 lives on board.

Its location was unknown until marine survey company, Subsea Professional Marine Services, discovered and reported the uncharted wreck to Heritage NSW in May 2022.

Subsea located the wreck during an underwater survey off Wollongong, NSW, and undertook an initial inspection of the site using a remotely operated vehicle.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, was petitioned by Heritage NSW to investigate the wreck to gather further data to aid in its identification.

RV Investigator was able to conduct a detailed seafloor mapping and camera investigation of the wreck while on a transit voyage from Hobart to Sydney in September 2023.

The CSIRO team used the vessel’s advanced multibeam echosounders to first map the wreck site and surrounding seafloor in high resolution. 

They then conducted a systematic visual inspection of the entire wreck using a specialised underwater drop camera system.

Phil Vandenbossche, a CSIRO hydrographic surveyor on board the voyage, said the seafloor mapping by RV Investigator shows the wreck is lying in 160 metres of water and is approximately 28 kilometres off the coast of Wollongong, NSW.

“The wreck is located towards the edge of the continental shelf and is sitting upright on the seafloor but is showing significant damage and deterioration at both the bow and stern,” Vandenbossche said.

“Our visual inspection of the wreck using the drop camera showed some key structures were still intact and identifiable, including two of the ship’s anchors lying on the seafloor.”

The bathymetry and camera survey data from RV Investigator, along with the previous imagery collected by Subsea, allowed Heritage NSW’s maritime archaeology experts to identify the wreck as the SS Nemesis.

The SS Nemesis was originally a passenger vessel but was converted and operating as a coal carrier when it disappeared.

The wreck of the SS Nemesis is protected as a historic shipwreck under the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018.