Doubts about Centaur shipwreck
- On 21/12/2009
- In World War Wrecks
- 0 comments
By Ben Dillaway - Gold coast
A Gold Coast doctor says he will only believe that searchers have found the sunken World War II hospital ship HMAS Centaur when he sees photographs of it lying on the ocean bed.
Monterey Keys GP Ross Evans says the historical facts do not support the vessel being as far offshore as where the searchers say they found it -- 66 years after it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine with the loss of 268 lives.
Premier Anna Bligh said shipwreck hunters found the vessel at 4.30am yesterday, 30 nautical miles due east from the southern tip of Moreton Island, 2059m below the surface.
None of the history supports it being that far offshore," said Dr Evans. "That means the survivors floated north against the current."
Dr Evans believes the Centaur sank within the trawling area to the northeast of Cape Moreton. The location was revealed to Dr Evans by a trawlerman who found an object 100m by 20m, about 90 fathoms (164.5m) below the surface many years ago. The Centaur was 96m with a 15m beam.
Australia japan WW II treasure hunter Moreton Island
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