The mystery of the 120-year disappearance of the coal ship off the coast of Australia has finally been solved—thanks to explorers who accidentally discovered it.
SS Nemesis was transporting coal to Melbourne, Australia in July 1904 when it encountered a severe storm off the coast of New South Wales and vanished along with its 32 crew members.
Weeks after the storm, the bodies of the crew members and debris from the ship washed ashore at Cronulla Beach, approximately 28 miles south of Sydney. Despite significant public interest at the time, the wreckage of the over 73-meter-long ship remained unfound, and its final resting place was a mystery.
The SS Nemesis was discovered accidentally after it vanished off the coast of Australia in 1904.
Subsea Professional Marine Services, a remote sensing company searching for lost cargo on the ocean floor off the Sydney coast in 2022, inadvertently discovered the missing shipwreck. The wreck was found completely intact, about 16 miles offshore, at a depth of nearly 160 meters.
Officials suspected the ship that sank was the SS Nemesis, but they had to use specialized underwater imagery to confirm the distinctive features of the wreck matched historical photographs and sketches of the coal ship.
The images revealed the iron wreck lying flat on a sandy bed. The bow and stern of the ship were significantly damaged. The findings suggest that the ship sank due to engine overload caused by the storm. Experts believe that the SS Nemesis began sinking rapidly after being hit by large waves, leaving the crew with no time to deploy lifeboats.
Officials believe the ship sank due to engine overload from the storm.
The NSW Minister for Environment and Heritage, Penny Sharpe, stated: “About 40 children lost their parents in this shipwreck, and I hope this discovery will bring comfort to the families and friends connected to the ship, who never knew its fate.”
Officials reported that the crew members who went missing were from Australia, England, and Canada.
