HMAS Swan will draw tourists after being sunk off Busselton coast

11/11/96

Western Australia is to get yet another major tourism attraction when the HMAS Swan is sunk off the coast at Busselton.

Tourism Minister Norman Moore said the HMAS Swan would become the biggest dive wreck in Australian waters, attracting thousands of visitors to our shores.

"Apart from being a world-class diving location, the HMAS Swan will also serve as an artificial reef which will increase fish breeding stocks in the area and complementing the successful tyre reef completed in 1988," Mr Moore said.

The Commonwealth Government indicated last year that the ship would be gifted to Western Australia.

The State Government then advertised for expressions of interest for the deployment and relocation of the vessel.

After an exhaustive process, the HMAS Swan Steering Committee, consisting of environmental, industry and marine safety and transport representatives, unanimously agreed Busselton was the preferred location for the sinking of the vessel.

Mr Moore said the majority of submissions favoured the sinking of the ship. However, the one group that was interested in preserving it as a Naval Heritage site withdrew its submission once it realised that all meaningful equipment and fittings were being removed by the Royal Australian Navy for use as spares.

"The committee felt the submission from the Geographe Bay Artificial Reef Society better addressed the environmental, safety, navigational and tourism/recreational criteria set for the acquisition of the HMAS Swan," Mr Moore said.

"The HMAS Swan will be sunk in 30m of water in Geographe Bay, about 1.3 nautical miles offshore next year.

"With the assistance of the Royal Australian Navy and the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia, it is planned that the Swan will be sunk in an upright position to allow access to divers of all levels of expertise and experience."

The committee found that the Busselton location was the safest, most sheltered environment, ensuring maximum amount of protection for visitors to the site, the surrounds and the ship itself.

"The ship will be decommissioned on the docks in Bunbury where it will be opened to the public," Mr Moore said.

"Non-divers will also have access to the SWAN once it is sunk through a glass bottom boat that will operate tours in the area.

"This ship will serve as great tourist attraction for the State and we have already put plans in place to bid for HMAS Torrens, which is due to be decommissioned in the near future. We would once again advertise for expressions of interest."

Media contact: Anabel Gomez 321 1444 or 222 9595