via The Guardian, 23 October 2021: The wreck of Australia’s first submarine is in the waters of Papua New Guinea, but recent looting in Southeast Asian waters mean that it may be in danger eventually.
Scavengers, trophy hunters and “metal pirates” are looting the treasures under the seas – and there are fears Australia’s first submarine could be next.
The location of HMAS AE1’s wreck is a secret closely held by a small group of people, including relatives of the 35 men who were on board when the Royal Australian Navy vessel sank at the outbreak of the first world war.
The 726-tonne submarine was travelling in hazy weather off the coast of what is now Papua New Guinea when it disappeared, and it was declared lost at sea on 14 September 1914. For more than a century people searched for it, not knowing the fate of those sailors.
Australia’s oldest naval mystery was partly solved in 2017 when the wreck was found in 300m of water near PNG’s Duke of York Islands. Scans show a crumbling but recognisable submarine on the ocean floor, its helm askew.
