Australia's biggest maritime mystery solved as MV Noongah's shipwreck found after 55 years

Over half a decade after MV Noongah succumbed to its fate by sinking deep into the water off the coast of the Australian state of New South Wales, killing 21 men.Australia has finally found the shipwreck of the ill-fated vessel, putting an end to the decades-long mystery.

For 55 years, the researchers struggled to find the 71 metres (233 ft) MV Noongah that was carrying steel off the coast of New South Wales when it ran into rough seas in August of 1969. Reports stated that the ship sank minutes after sending a distress signal.

After the ship disappeared, it prompted one of the biggest maritime searches in Australian history. Five of the 26 crewmen survived but the body of only one was ever recovered from the sea while the remaining were lost.

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Last month, a high-tech ship owned by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in collaboration with Heritage NSW and The Sydney Project went to investigate a possible wreckage, hoping for it to be MV Noongah.

Notably, locals had spotted the shipwreck years ago in the water off the coast of South West Rocks, about 460 kilometres north of Sydney. However, the lack of technology or diving knowledge needed to identify the wreck stopped the endeavour - that is until the CSIRO ship arrived.

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Noongah sitting upright

Upon examining the wreckage, the researchers found it to be largely intact and sitting upright on the seafloor, 170 metres below the surface.

“We were lucky to have favourable sea conditions for the survey and our CSIRO technical teams were able to gather excellent bathymetry and drop camera vision of the wreck,” said CSIRO Voyage Manager, Margot Hind.

“Not only is the discovery of these significant wrecks important for the surviving sailors and families of those that perished during the tragedy but also it allows us to investigate the mystery behind the sinking,” Samir Alhafith from The Sydney Project added.

Family members and descendants of the MV Noongah crew have been urged to contact CSIRO for further details about investigations conducted by the mission.

The data and vision collected have been provided to project partners which will help them plan a dive to collect additional vision from the site.

(With inputs from agencies)