Latest news with #PortKembla
ABC News
24-06-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Deep dive discovery - Nemesis shipwreck revealed in striking detail
Stunning footage from experienced divers reveals the long-lost SS Nemesis wreck resting 160 metres below the surface off Port Kembla. For the first time, viewers can see the collapsed bow and stern, scattered coal cargo, and unique features of this century-old shipwreck, shedding new light on one of NSW's greatest maritime mysteries. Supplied: Sydney Project
ABC News
24-06-2025
- Science
- ABC News
First dive of SS Nemesis reveals secrets of storm-ravaged ship lost off NSW coast
The SS Nemesis steamship was carrying coal from Newcastle to Melbourne when it sailed into a fierce winter storm and disappeared in 1904. Debris and bodies washed ashore at Cronulla Beach in the days that followed, but despite an extensive search, the main wreck was not found until last year. "This wreck is exceptionally historical with regards how long people searched for it," Sydney Project diver and leader, Samir Alhafith, said. The wreckage was accidentally discovered by a company hired to locate shipping containers lost during storms off the coast in 2022. Using sonar and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), an unusual object was found 26 kilometres off Port Kembla, about halfway to the continental shelf. Mr Alhafith said it took about an hour and a half to sail out to the wreckage site from Wollongong harbour last week. "It's sitting in about 160 metres of water, which makes it quite a challenging dive," Mr Alhafith said. The group used a shot line — a weighted rope — to mark the site and guide their descent. But currents dragged the line off target, forcing them to reposition and lose valuable time. Eventually, the team made the nine-minute descent, spending nine minutes exploring and filming the wreck before beginning the six-hour decompression ascent back to the surface. Mr Alhafith said the team had an idea of what to expect thanks to earlier CSIRO scans of the wreck. But he said nothing compared to seeing it firsthand. "When you land on a wreck you've never dived before, you don't know where the layout is, you need to do orientation," he said. "But in this case, because we already had a little bit of an idea, it made it a little bit easier to make our way around." Divers who landed near the front of the vessel were immediately struck by the extent of the damage. "This shipwreck is a little bit unique to others because the bow and the stern, so the front and the back of the ship, are both collapsed, pretty much to the sand line, which is unusual," Mr Alhafith said. "I have never seen that before." He said the severity of the wreckage indicated the ferocity of the storm that sank the Nemesis. "It looks like something extremely violent happened to the wreck," he said. With visibility exceeding 30 metres and warmer-than-expected water temperatures of about 19 degrees Celsius, the divers were greeted by thriving marine life. "Normally, I say fish just get in the way, they're a menace, but because they've never seen divers before, they were a bit curious." He said the warmer conditions also brought an unexpected variety of species to the site. "There's a lot of wobbegongs, I even noticed a couple of species of tropical fish," Mr Alhafith said. He said the team hoped to return to the site to complete a full map of the wreck and continue the search for definitive evidence confirming the ship's identity. "We want to get back there and do a complete sweeping map of the scan," he said. Mr Alhafith said while sonar and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) were valuable, nothing compared to having divers on site. "The quality of the images and what we can do down there is far superior to robotics," he said. Heritage NSW, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water director of assessments, Tim Smith, said the deep-sea dive was an incredible feat. "These four divers have shone a light on the vessel's rich legacy, capturing never-seen-before footage of the ship up close," Mr Smith said. Earlier this month, Heritage NSW said the identities of two SS Nemesis crew members lost in the 1904 shipwreck have been confirmed as William Coull from Adelaide and Norman McLeod from Sydney. The department said it planned to install commemorative headstones at Woronora Cemetery, where their unmarked graves had remained for more than a century.
ABC News
02-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Wreckage washes up near Wollongong amid search for missing fisherman
The wreckage of a fishing boat has washed ashore a day after it capsized off the coast of Wollongong but a fisherman who was aboard is yet to be found. Emergency services responded to a distress call about 1pm on Sunday after the boat capsized near the breakwall off the coast of the Port Kembla steelworks. An 18-year-old man swam to safety but the other occupant, a 78-year-old man, has not been since since. Marine Rescue personnel, NSW Police divers and Surf Life Saving (SLS) volunteers continued the search on Monday, along with a Westpac Rescue Helicopter. SLS NSW duty officer Anthony Turner said the fishermen were visiting the area. "We have spoken to a number of the families who have just been visiting here," he said. "They have thanked the lifesavers and the emergency services who have been out there searching for the last two days. Part of the wrecked boat was found about 9:30am on Monday and taken to Port Kembla Harbour. Search teams found contents from the boat throughout the day, including an esky and a life jacket. "Unfortunately, the person has not been located yet but a number of items from the fishing vessel which has broken up, have been retrieved and brought back to Port Kembla Harbour," Mr Turner said.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Port Kembla Energy Terminal delayed until 2027 amid shifting gas demand
A New South Wales gas terminal is built, connected and ready to go but will not begin operations until at least 2027 as Squadron Energy delays the start amid shifting demand forecasts. It comes even as energy authorities warn of looming east coast gas shortfalls. The Port Kembla Energy Terminal — which has been completed and tied into the Eastern Gas Pipeline — will stay in "care and maintenance" mode until mid-2027, after a reassessment of customer needs and updated projections from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Squadron Energy executive general manager of operations, Stuart Davis, said the revised timeline reflected market conditions. He said his company received a request from Egyptian state-owned company Egas for an extension as it was going through a sales process for the terminal. Squadron last year announced it had secured LNG carrier vessel the Hoegh Galleon, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) which could receive domestic or imported gas. Mr Davis said the site would remain in "care and maintenance to ensure that when the Galleon turns up it is ready to go". The company originally forecast it would start operating in 2026. In March, AEMO's 2025 Gas Statement of Opportunities identified peak-day shortfall risks in southern states from 2028 — a shift from previous forecasts that had shortfalls arriving earlier. However, the report still warned of deepening supply gaps from 2029 onwards, calling for "structural" investment in new supply, pipelines, or storage to avoid market imbalances. The Port Kembla terminal was listed in AEMO's report as a future supply option capable of delivering up to 500 terajoules per day — about 130 petajoules a year — from 2026. But it was not included in the formal modelling because it was considered a "proposed" project. An AEMO spokesperson said it was not advanced to be included in the modelling as a committed or anticipated project. Jemena, which owns and operates the Eastern Gas Pipeline linking Victoria and New South Wales, said the delay would not impact its work to reconfigure the pipeline for bi-directional flow — allowing gas to move south to Melbourne. Squadron said its later start date did not mean it would miss the market window. "We are in deep commercial discussions with a lot of very large customers to take the offtake and we're confident from 2027 on we will be able to sell the capacity of the facility," Mr Davis said. He also said the delay was unlikely to benefit rival projects such as Santos' Narrabri gas field or Queensland pipeline expansions. "Ultimately there are lots of projects vying to get financial investment decisions," he said. "We are the only solution that has gone through FID [Financial Investment Decision], we've finished construction and commissioning. Analysis from the Australia Institute shows about 80 per cent of Australia's gas is exported as LNG. Independent Senator David Pocock has been critical of the policy settings. "We don't have a gas supply shortage — we have a gas export problem," he said in March. Mr Davis said the Port Kembla terminal, once operational, could help rebalance supply. "There are capacity constraints between northern Queensland and the NSW–Victoria market," he said. "You can't get much gas from the Northern Territory to the east coast, and you can't get any from WA — so Port Kembla Energy Terminal is a fantastic asset to facilitate those flows of Australian LNG." A spokesperson for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal government was made aware of the delay in March. "The Albanese government has acted to secure gas supply out until 2029 — ensuring Australian homes and businesses have affordable supply when and where they need it," the said.
