Wreck of MV Noongah Identified
CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has helped confirm the resting place of motor vessel (MV) Noongah, a 71-metre coastal freighter lost at sea in 1969 in one of the nation’s worst post-war maritime disasters.
MV Noongah was travelling between Newcastle and Townsville carrying steel when it encountered a storm and sank in heavy seas on 25 August 1969.
The loss of MV Noongah led to one of the largest searches for survivors in Australian maritime history, involving navy and merchant vessels, aircraft, helicopters and shore-based searches of beaches along the coast.
Tragically, 21 of the 26 crew on board lost their lives in the incident. Only one body was ever recovered and the wreck of MV Noongah had never been found.
The location of the wreck has now been confirmed through a collaborative project between CSIRO, Heritage NSW and The Sydney Project.
Several members of the public also contributed to the project, including by pinpointing and reporting the location of the suspected shipwreck off the NSW coast.
CSIRO research vessel Investigator completed an investigation of the unidentified shipwreck in June 2024, collecting high resolution bathymetry (seafloor mapping data) and video footage of the wreck.
CSIRO Voyage Manager, Margot Hind, said the investigation showed the wreck is sitting upright on the seafloor and is largely intact.
The bathymetry data shows the wreck is sitting at a depth of 170 meters and is approximately 71 meters long, with the vessel dimensions, profile and configuration matching MV Noongah.
CSIRO’s Matt Kimber said: “This tragedy is still very much in the memory of many in the community, and we offer our condolences to families and descendants of the crew who were lost. Our thoughts are also with the surviving crew members from MV Noongah, and we hope that knowing the resting place of the vessel brings some closure for all.”
(Image courtesy of Australian National Maritime Museum)