FLASH NEWS
150-year-old maritime mystery solved!
2026-03-06 19:37:03 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE
A maritime mystery that had remained unsolved for more than 150 years has been solved after divers finally discovered the wreck of the steamship City of Hobart off the coast of Victoria, Australia.
The iron ship was found about 30 kilometres off the Gippsland coast, after almost two decades of searching by a team of divers and maritime history researchers.
The City of Hobart sank in 1877 while carrying a cargo of coal from Newcastle to Melbourne. The accident occurred after the propeller shaft broke and penetrated the ship's hull, causing fatal damage that led to its sinking.
The captain and crew managed to abandon ship in lifeboats and were rescued the next day by a ship that happened to be passing through the area.
The wreck was found by a team of divers led by researcher Mark Ryan, co-founder of Southern Ocean Exploration. The team had been searching since 2007 and for years had been convinced that it was very close to the ship's location.
The discovery came as a surprise when a research vessel conducting measurements for an offshore wind farm identified an object on the seabed in the area being studied. Following the signal, divers dived in and confirmed that it was the wreck of the City of Hobart.
"To dive into a wreck like this for the first time is incredible. And to be the first team to see it is amazing. We've been looking for this ship for almost twenty years," Ryan said.
The new discovery helps solve one of the many maritime mysteries of the state of Victoria, where about 660 shipwrecks are recorded.
However, only about half of them have been identified so far. One of the biggest mysteries that still remains unsolved is the disappearance of the ship Madagascar, which sank in 1853 while carrying gold from Victoria, a cargo now estimated to be worth around $500 million.
Historians consider its finding one of the greatest possible discoveries in maritime history.
The City of Hobart discovery was made during studies for the Aurora Green energy project.
Happening now...
Germany, the "curse" of Rama and Berisha
Nga Bato Kosova
ideas
When crisis becomes a system: Dilemmas of the Republic of Kosovo
Nga Sokol Neçaj
The opposition must and will be bigger than an individual.
Nga Taulanda Jupi
top
Alfa recipes
TRENDING 
services
- POLICE129
- STREET POLICE126
- AMBULANCE112
- FIREFIGHTER128