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HMAS Swan wreck

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It took hundreds of volunteers nearly 12 months and more than 10,000 hours of hard labor to prepare the former Destroyer Escort HMAS Swan for scuttling as a dive wreck and artificial reef near Dunsborough in Western Australia. Then, with the push of a button, it was over in just two minuets and fifty-three seconds, but really this was just the beginning of the Swan's new life.

She served Australia proudly for 26 years and then on Friday the 13th September 1996 the Destroyer Escort HMAS Swan was decommissioned at her homeport, HMAS Stirling, in Western Australia. The Royal Australian Navy is not superstitious and Friday the 13th was a fitting date for her decommissioning, as it was thirty years to the day since the previous HMAS Swan was decommissioned.

After an exhaustive process the committee unanimously recommended to the Government that the Geographe Bay Artificial Reef Society be given the responsibility of preparing and scuttling the Swan as a dive wreck/artificial reef.

HMAS Swan wreck

Details

Awards: Diver access holes were cut through the hull, deck and bulkheads. This allowed easier access to the interior to the ship along with greater light penetration. In most instances a diver can now stay within direct line of sight on an entry/exit point and still explore a significant portion of the Ship. These access holes also helped in the scuttling process by allowing the water to get in and the air to get out much quicker thus giving us a much quicker "sink time". The resting-place for the Swan was chosen with great care. From an environmental standpoint, the site had to be a sandy bottom with no naturally occurring reef or significant seagrass beds nearby.
Awards: We wanted a site that could be dived safely in most weather conditions - safe for both novice and experienced divers alike. Our aim was to have the Swan sitting upright on the bottom so we needed 30 metres of water in order to have enough clearance to meet Department of Transport requirements. This site was found 1.3 nautical miles off Point Piquet (Meelup Beach) near Dunsborough. The site was well protected by Cape Naturalist, which will help to extend the life of the ship, and fitted all the above requirements perfectly. Most important for divers that are at all prone to seasickness, it is only about a 15-minute boat ride in protected waters.