Controversial HMAS Adelaide scuttling leaves a long wake.

A FORMER Navy frigate controversially sunk off Avoca Beach in 2011 has started breaking up as predicted by environment and community groups, with a large wall section that sheared away during storms in 2015 listed as “location unknown”.

Documents obtained under freedom of information show the HMAS Adelaide’s 10 metre by 8 metre starboard hangar wall disappeared during wild storms in May, 2015, leaving one side of the hangar roof “now completely unsupported”.

“I expect that the roof will tear apart without much resistance when the next significant swell hits. Hopefully it will lift off and be deposited on the seabed,” said a consultant’s report to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, that recorded a “loose section of wall” that “will presumably break off in the next big swell”.

In 2016 storms a one metre section of the remaining starboard hangar wall broke free “and is moving backwards and forwards slightly”, while “numerous handrails have been broken off and now lie strewn about the decks”, documents obtained last week by No Ship Action Group spokesperson Michelle Meares show.

The botched sinking of ex-HMAS Tobruk by a government contractor, which left the ship on its side and needing modifications to make it safer, will not be fixed after the risks of damaging it are deemed too high.

It was promised to be a world-class dive spot and major tourist attraction between Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, with the cost estimated about $10 million.

But the ship, which was supposed to sink upright, tipped on its side when was scuttled in late June.

Instead of fixing it, the State Government has decided to spend $1 million on marketing campaign to promote it.

Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the cost of fixing the ship's orientation could have been as high as $20 million.

"The cost of righting the ship is actually secondary to the risks that the experts said righting the ship would pose, there's a huge variation between $6 and $20 million, which is an indication of how there is a lot of unknowns in all of this," she said.

A federal offer to turn an ex-navy warship into a dive site off the east coast of Tasmania has been scuttled by the state's government.

The plan to sink HMAS Darwin at Skeleton Bay was not financially feasible or in the best interests of the state, State Growth Minister Peter Gutwein said on Friday.

An initial cost of $12 million to the state plus ongoing maintenance of $600,000 per year could be better invested in Tasmania's health and education systems, he added.

REMINDER OF UPCOMING EVENT - DUMPING OLD NAVY SHIP IN THE BAY OF FIRES Michelle Meares from the No Ship Action Group will be speaking in St Helens about that groups experience related to the dumping of the HMAS Adelaide off Avoca beach on the Central Coast of NSW. Michelle will talk about the environmental impact, economic costs and other issues associated with the scuttling of HMAS Adelaide. DATE: Saturday 15th September TIME: 2.30 PM VENUE: St Helens Neighbourhood House Bungalow This event is supported by the Binalong Bay Ratepayers Association, No Dive Wreck for the Bay of Fires, Bay of Fires Coastal Preservation Lobby and the North East Bioregional Network. Photo: Skeleton Bay, Bay of Fires

Not all Tasmanian residents are pleased with the federal government’s gift of the HMAS Darwin to Tasmania.

The former navy vessel will likely become a dive wreck off the East Coast following assessments undertaken by the state government.

However, North East Bioregional Network president Todd Dudley said the ship should instead be recycled for scrap metal.

“As we have said for many years, Skeleton Bay is a beautiful pristine body of water that deserves protection from inappropriate development,” he said.

“There are already a large number of tourists visiting the Bay of Fires area including Skeleton Bay to enjoy its relatively undeveloped natural beauty. As such we don’t need artificial fake tourism attractions.”

Mr Dudley said the scuttling of the ship would cost in excess of $6 million.

“This is an outrageous waste of money that could be better spent on maintaining and restoring the natural environment of Tasmania.

“It is no longer acceptable to use the ocean as a dumping ground for redundant navy ships or other waste.  Such actions demonstrate a lack of respect for the marine environment.”

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said though it was great that the HMAS Darwin had been offered to the state, there were other projects that should take priority over the scuttling of a ship.

“The state government shouldn’t be expected to write a blank cheque and pay for the cost of submerging it and cleaning it up,” he said.

“I understand the concerns some may have about the brand of Binalong Bay and the pristine nature of it, and that’s got to be front and centre. That drives more visitation and tourism to the East Coast of the state more than anything.”

Dive operators say the scuttling of a former navy ship off Queensland is a “stuff-up” after it came to rest on its side.

The state government paid a contractor to sink ex-HMAS Tobruk late last month, promising it would provide a world-class dive site for tourists.

But the ship listed as valves flooded it, and the vessel rolled as it was going down in the Great Sandy marine park, between Bundaberg and Hervey Bay.

The owner of Lady Musgrave Experience, Brett Lakey, said the landing was not what had been promised to operators who have dive permits for the site.

The ship’s position could limit access to more experienced divers, he said.

“I know [Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service] are ... working with every option to see whether they will right it or leave it on its side,” Lakey told the Courier-Mail.

“The perception has been that it’s been a bit of a stuff-up. It certainly limits and restricts any penetrations. If we don’t think it could work we could hand back permits.”

The opposition says the scuttling was a devastating failure and wants answers.

“Has the contractor been paid by the government, and what’s the cost to rectify the bungle?” asked Stephen Bennett, a Liberal National party member who holds the seat of Burnnett near the wreck site.

But the environment minister, Leeanne Enoch, has downplayed the outcome.

“The Queensland government is currently working with the contractor and dive operators to assess the safety of the wreck and to scope dive experience opportunities,” she said.

She said dive operators had advised that in its current position the wreck would still cater to all levels of divers.

The contractor who sank Tobruk is inspecting the wreck and will submit a report to the government.

IT WAS supposed to be a win for the state’s tourist industry, but everyone watching our navy’s biggest ship sink knew something had gone terribly wrong.

No Ship Action Group vs State of NSW and Minister for Environment, Heritage & Arts Administrative Appeals Tribunal Court Documents

On March 27 2010 Envirolab carried out testing for toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on samples of different materials still present on board the ex HMAS Adelaide. 61 samples were collected and  48 samples tested positive to containing greater than 1mg/kg of PCBs, however 28 samples returned a result of 10 mg/kg or higher. Download the Envirolab reports here. 

Statement of Reasons for Approval of Sea Dumping Permit on 22 March 2010

Evidence from Werner Hoyt Part 1 - 15 April 2010 [PDF]

Evidence from Werner Hoyt Part 2 - 15 April 2010 [PDF]

Evidence from Steve Paulsen - 13 April 2010 [PDF]

Evidence from Jim Puckett - 26 June 2010 [PDF]

Lead Paint Test Results - 13 July 2010 [PDF]

PCB Test Results = Envirolab [PDF]

PCB Test Results - NMI [PDF]

Recycling Quote - 3 July 2010

Associate Professor Goodwin Report Review of Worley Parsons Review of Environmental Factors on Ex HMAS Adelaide Artificial Reef  Coastal and Oceanographic Processes - 9 October 2010 

AAT Decision and Reasons for Decision - 24 March 2010 (Stay on Sea Dumping Permit)

AAT Decision and Reasons for Decision - 15 September 2010 (Judgment)

AAT Decision and Reasons for Decision - 15 October 2010 (NSW State Govt returns to AAT to seek ‘clarification’ as to whether they must remove ALL Insulation and Canvas as ordered)

Experienced female scuba diver dead after struggling at HMAS Adelaide site near Terrigal Oct 6, 2014

  Ian Walker From: The Daily Telegraph  Oct 06, 2014 1:21PM

The 33-year-old from Bronte was 30 metres below the surface when her friend noticed she was struggling. The pair were part of a deep diving group exploring the HMAS Adelaide wreck. The friend dragged the woman to the surface with an emergency ascent when he saw her in distress. As they reached the surface, the woman went into cardiac arrest. Members of the diving group then pulled the woman on board a vessel and performed CPR as she was brought to shore about 9am.

See more http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/experienced-female-scuba-diver-dead-after-struggling-at-hmas-adelaide-site-near-terrigal/story-fni0cx12-1227081066743?nk=23b205a365fe7dd6cc60a8439c9a1711

Woman suffers the bends diving at HMAS Adelaide at Terrigal April 21, 2014

A SYDNEY woman has suffered the bends while diving at the HMAS Adelaide at Terrigal. The woman was flown to the hyperbaric unit at Sydney’s Prince of Wales hospital after a Careflight medical team collected her about 1 pm. Read more http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2231017/woman-suffers-the-bends-diving-at-hmas-adelaide-at-terrigal/

Diver suffering ‘the bends’ Jan 4, 2013

Posted by: mstevens January 4, 2013 in Central Coast News

Emergency services were called to the Haven at Terrigal this afternoon to assist a diver who was suffering from ‘the bends’. The 53-year-old man was flown to Prince of Wales Hospital after his condition deteriorated on the way to hospital. The man was diving near the ex-HMAS Adelaide site when he took ill.

Comment in response to this article: warning call January 5, 2013 at 12:58 pm

There have been an excessive number of bends cases related to the Adelaide in the past few months being noted in the news and yet the spokesperson for the Central Coast Artificial Reef Program (CCARP) denies that this is a problem. If the medical profession are trying to alert the public to the fact that the HMAS Adelaide is a potentially dangerous dive to unexperienced divers, shouldn’t the caretakers of the site be more responsible in limiting dives to experienced divers – before a tragedy happens?

http://www.nbnnews.com.au/index.php/2013/01/04/diver-suffering-the-bends/

Medical experts blame an ex-naval ship for a spike in the number of sick scuba divers in NSW.

Debris from the dumped warship HMAS Adelaide collected on Avoca Beach after the big swell over the weekend (Feb 23 & 24, 2013). This marine pollution was sanctioned by the Minister for Environment Tony Bourke, Barry O'Farrell, Chris Hartcher, Gosford Council and John Asquith from the Community Environment Network, University of Newcastle and the Marine Discovery Centre. Taxpayers paid $10 million to dump this rubbish next to this beautiful beach.

Much more is washing up, this is just what one person collected on their morning walk on Saturday. When the same honeycomb aluminium started washing up on Avoca Beach six weeks after HMAS Adelaide was dumped in April 2011, Les Graham from Terrigal Dive identified it as the interior walling from the ship.

Hopefully the State Govt and the diving community will take some responsibility in the long term for cleaning up the debris released from the wreck - it is dangerous for marine life, swimmers and surfers. The community of Avoca should not have to be picking up the mess as the ship breaks down and washes up on the beach over the coming decades

Some of the money from the diving permits and dive fees should be put into a fund to clean up the mess. To deliberately dump the ship in such a high swell environment was totally irresponsible and the government and local organisations who supported it need to take responsibility for the clean up as time goes on and the wreck inevitably breaks down into the surrounding marine environment.

For more pictures and community's response check out No Ship on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Ship/158050544229141?ref=hl

The Australian Government has decided to RECYCLE the 2 obsolete warships HMAS Manoora and HMAS Kanimbla - finally Australia acts to dispose of their obsolete warships in a responsible manner. This is HMAS Kanimbla, an 11 000 tonne warship which the government were trying to dump in beautiful Jervis Bay, then the Gold Coast but it will now be recycled along with the 8 500 tonne HMAS Manoora. While it is too late for Avoca Beach this campaign successfully helped raise awareness of the toxic items (lead/PCBs/plastics) being dumped in our precious oceans, the waste of thousands of taxpayer dollars and tonnes of precious resources such as steel and aluminium, significant liability issues for public authorities responsible for the sea dumping and the hidden costs to the local marine environment where these ships are dumped. Our oceans are not a dump for military waste!

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/dive-wreck-hopes-sunk-as-ships-head-to-scrapyard/story-e6freuy9-1226546770740 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/navy-workhorses-hmas-manoora-and-hmas-kanimbla-to-end-careers-as-scrap/story-fncynkc6-1226546722433