Divers hold key to coast’s secrets

Bay Post (Australia): Divers hold key to coast’s secrets
Extreme-depth scuba divers from Sydney want to unlock the hidden secrets of two possible shipwrecks off Batemans Bay.

The team of volunteer divers, from Sydney Project, will visit Batemans Bay over the next few months to investigate two possible wrecks that lie up to 17 miles off shore.

One of the ships, George S Livonos, is believed to have been sunk by the I-11 Japanese submarine which is also held responsible for sinking two ships off Bermagui during World War II.

The Greek freighter lies 17 miles off Batemans Bay in waters 152m deep, which means the divers will shoot to the bottom, spend less than 20 minutes investigating the wreck then spend six-and-a-half hours decompressing before surfacing.

Sydney Project president Samir Alhafith said they would also investigate a possible wreck, four miles offshore, which no-one has ever seen.

He said their Bermagui boat operator picked up something on the boat’s sounder, and that it was worth investigating.

“We’ll see if there’s a wreck there or not,” he said. “But the one that’s 17 miles off, a wreck is definitely there because a fisherman pulled part of the wreck with their net.”

The dives are not without risk. The project lost a diver in 2007, while he was diving on the wreck formerly thought to be the Iron Knight.

The body of Sven Paepke has never been recovered.

This is the first time the group will investigate the George S Livonos, which Mr Alhafith said was used to carry cargo, such as jeeps, trucks and ammunition between Australia and Papua New Guinea during World War II.

He also said it was the first ship the I-11 submarine torpedoed.

“I think it should be there, and I’d be very surprised if it’s not,” he said.

Mr Alhafith said the group hasn’t set a date for the dive because they have to consider tides.

He said winter was the best time to dive.

“It’s the perfect time because it’s calmer seas and you get less currents.”

He says the George S Livonos is resting on a shelf that is prone to very strong currents.

Last month, the dive group discovered the real identity of one of the ships sunk by the Japanese submarine off Bermagui.

The wreck was formerly thought to be the BHP freighter Iron Knight but Mr Alhafith said certain factors about the shipwreck did not add up.

He said their findings would be eventually made into a documentary.