The 120yearold mystery of a ship that disappeared without a trace off the coast of Australia has finally been solved, thanks to accidental discovery by submarines. The SS Nemesis was carrying coal to Melbourne in 1904 when she was caught in a storm and was never seen again. In the following weeks, the crew's bodies washed ashore alongside the ship's wreckage, but the ship's location remained unknown until this week.
Subsea Professional Marine Services, a remote sensing company searching the seabed off the coast of Sydney for lost cargo in 2022, stumbled upon the missing ship by chance. Most of the wreck was found completely untouched about 16 miles offshore in nearly 525 feet of water.
Authorities early on suspected that the sunken ship was the SS Nemesis, but had to use special underwater photography to compare the wreck's features with photos from when the ship was at sea. The images showed that the ship's iron wreckage was lying on a sandy plain and the bow and stern were significantly damaged.
Authorities believe the ship sank because the engine was overloaded due to the storm. (Photo: CSIRO)
The discovery revealed that the ship sank because the engine was overloaded due to the storm. Experts believe that the SS Nemesis began to sink quickly after being hit by a large wave. The accident would have happened so quickly that the crew would not have had time to use the lifeboats.
The Ministry of Environment and Heritage confirmed the discovery this weekend. “The 120yearold mystery of the SS Nemesis and her 32 crew members lost at sea has been solved,” government officials said in a news release. Now the authorities want to search for family members of the 32 deceased Australian, British and Canadian crew members.
Phil Vandenbossche, hydrographic inspector for Australia's national scientific research agency, CSIRO, explained how the vessel was identified. “Our visual inspection of the wreck using the camera showed that some key structures were still intact and identifiable, including two of the ship's anchors on the seabed,” he said. He added that further video footage would be “stitched together” to create a 3D model of the wreckage for further study.
“Around 40 children lost their parents in this sinking and I hope this discovery allays the concerns of families and friends associated with the ship who never knew its fate,” said Environment and Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe.
“The loss of the Nemesis has been described as one of Sydney's most enduring maritime mysteries and has even been dubbed the 'Holy Grail' by shipwreck researchers. Working with CSIRO and Subsea, using modern technology and historical records, Heritage NSW has been able to write the final chapter of history,” he concluded.
According to the authorities, there are more than 200 shipwrecks off the coast of New South Wales, but fewer than half have been located so far.