SS Bombo Wreck
Port Kembla, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
A 602-ton steel coastal steamer that capsized in a southerly gale off Port Kembla on 22 February 1949 with the loss of 12 crew. She lies upside down on sand at 32 m in the harbour shipping approach, hull split and stern separated, with engine, boiler, propeller and rudder exposed. A deep, short, advanced dive that must be cleared with Port Kembla before entering the water.
SS Bombo was built at Leith in 1929-30 to carry blue metal from Kiama to Sydney and served as HMAS Bombo, a minesweeper and stores carrier, during the Second World War. On 22 February 1949, loaded with 650 tons of blue metal, she was caught by a southerly gale, her cargo shifted and she capsized about 4 km from Port Kembla harbour; 12 of the 14 crew died and a memorial stands at Black Beach, Kiama. Rediscovered by divers in 1978, the wreck lies inverted on sand at 32 m with the hull split and buckled, the stern section separated, and the engine, boiler, propeller with one broken blade and rudder visible. The site is almost in the middle of the Port Kembla shipping approach: large vessels pass close, divers must phone the Port Kembla duty officer before diving and anchoring is prohibited during ship movements. Bottom time is about 17 minutes on air, nitrox is an advantage, visibility is frequently poor regardless of surface conditions and the steel is sharp and collapsing. Sources record no marine-life list for this wreck.
