Australia has found the wreckage of cargo ship MV Noongah 55 years after it sank and killed 21 sailors on board. The wreckage was discovered off the coast of New South Wales, bring an end to the biggest maritime search in Australian history.
MV Noongah, with a cargo of steel and a 26-person crew, departed Newcastle for Townsville on August 23, 1969. Two days into its voyage, the cargo ship got caught in a heavy storm and vanished under the sea.
Of the 26 people, 21 crew members on board were killed in the storm and only one body was recovered. The ship's wreckage was also not found, until now.
MV Noongah sank minutes after it sent a distress signal on August 25 1969. Since it's sinking. Royal Australian Navy destroyers, minesweepers, planes, helicopters and other vessels were deployed to search for the ship and for a sign of survivors.
Within 12 hours of their search, two of the crew members were found at sea in life rafts. Three more members were found floating with a plank of wood.
Noongah's wreckage was first found years ago by some locals off the coadt of South West Rocks and reported the coordinates to the authorities. However, the technology needed to identify and confirm the wreckage as Noongah was not available.
IN June 2024, a high-tech ship owned by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) was deployed to search further and confirmed the wreckage to be that of Noongah.
With the wreckage found upright and intact 170m deep in the sea, CSIRO group leader Matthew Kimber hopes that "knowing the resting place of the vessel brings some closure for all."
