A 50-year mystery has been solved, with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) uncovering the location of the missing Australian coastal freighter MV Blythe Star (pictured).
Celebrating the find, CSIRO said the location of the 44-metre vessel, which disappeared off the coast of Tasmania nearly 50 years ago, was confirmed during an investigation by its research vessel (RV) Investigator.
“The vessel was travelling from Hobart to King Island when, on 13 October 1973, it suddenly capsized and sank off the southwest coast of Tasmania,” CSIRO said.
“All 10 crew members were able to escape the sinking vessel into an inflatable life raft,” it said.
“Tragically, three crew members died before the survivors were able to find help and be rescued 12 days later on 24 October 1973.”
CSIRO said the disappearance of the MV Blythe Star sparked the largest maritime search ever conducted in Australia to that time, but no trace of the vessel was ever found.
It said the location of the MV Blythe Star was confirmed by RV Investigator on 12 April during a 38-day research voyage to study a submarine (underwater) landslide off the west coast of Tasmania.
“This voyage included a ‘piggyback’ project to investigate an unidentified shipwreck which had been pinpointed by fishing vessels and previous seafloor surveys in the region,” CSIRO said.
“The wreck of the MV Blythe Star is located approximately 10.5 km west of South West Cape, Tasmania and lies in 150 metres of water.”
CSIRO said data from the project had been provided to State and national maritime heritage agencies as part of the reporting process for the Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database (AUCHD).
“It’s hoped that the mapping and video footage gathered may provide additional information to help answer questions about what caused the vessel to sink,” the CSIRO said.
