Federal

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Steel Screw Steamer | Max Depth: 115 m (377 ft)

Historic shipwreck protected zone. Permit Required.
For more details please see vic-shipwreck-protection-zones.

Do not dive near the SS Federal without a permit. The shipwreck lies in a 800 metre radius protection zone. If you enter this zone severe penalties apply. Stay clear!

SS Federal | Source: ANMM

The Federal (aka SS Federal) was lost in a storm, with the loss of 31 crew. She sank on 21 March 1901 without survivors on a voyage from Port Kembla to Albany.

The resting place of SS Federal had been a mystery for years, however, in April 2019, authorities were able to confirm its location, following some help from recreational divers. The Federal lies about 34 km south of Cape Conran and 60 km south-west of Point Hicks off Victoria's East Gippsland Coast.

Finding the Federal Shipwreck

SS Federal multibeam sonar 3D image
Source: CSIRO

The Victorian Heritage Database states that during mine sweeping operations in World War I, a sunken object was "fouled in deep water halfway between Ram Head and Cape Everard," which may have been the ship. Cape Everard is now known as Point Hicks.

In 2012, recreational diver Damien Siviero explored the wreckage of SS Federal during a diving trip organised by a group of friends. He thinks the Melbourne-based friends had been tipped off about the location of the shipwreck by local fishermen.

On 15 April 2019, the wreckage of a ship that mysteriously disappeared more than a century ago with no survivors was officially located and 3D-mapped at the bottom of Bass Strait between Victoria and Tasmania. Scientists onboard the CSIRO research vessel Investigator surveyed SS Federal seven years after recreational divers filmed the shipwreck and reported it to authorities.

Australian National Maritime Museum Podcast: The mysteries of SS Federal shipwreck

The remains of SS Iron Crown, which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo during World War II, was found during the same Investigator voyage.

Diving the Federal Shipwreck

SS Federal 3D image
Source: CSIRO

The CSIRO geophysical mapping team initiated close interval multibeam survey, running a total of nine transects within a 350-metre radius of the site. The vessel is perched on top of a six-metre deep scour (the vessel is located in a high tidal flow area within Bass Strait). The shipwreck is broken up, with the stern smashed and hull plate on starboard side beginning to fall into scour.

Drop camera footage was collected for bow, stern and mid-ship and into the scour. Upon approach of the stern section, investigators noted that the hull appeared to be crushed with very little remaining hull structure spotted at the aft end. Long thin sections of hull protruded into the water column preventing further visual inspection in this area.

SS Federal - First Dive (115m) | © Damien Siviero

The diving conditions in Bass Strait are difficult, with exposed seas, poor visibility and strong currents. Calm conditions are required to dive the Glenelg.

Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.

The site of the Federal is a historic shipwreck protected zone declared under the Australian Government's Underwater Cultural heritage Act 2018, with an 800 metre radius from:
Latitude: 38° 7.333′ S (38.122222° S / 38° 7′ 20″ S)
Longitude: 148° 43.850′ E (148.730833° E / 148° 43′ 51″ E) .
A permit from Heritage Victoria is required to dive the Federal. Anchoring is prohibited.

Federal Shipwreck History — Built in 1890

Federal Ashore at Newcastle
Source: University of Newcastle Library

The SS Federal was a steel screw steamer of 2,403 gross tons (1,540 net tons), built in 1890, by Wim Doxford and Sons, of Sunderland, England. She was clinker built with an eliptical stern and masts that were schooner rigged. The vessel was built with the dimensions of 290 ft (88 m) long, a breadth of 40 ft (12 m) and a depth of 19.6 ft (5.97 m). The Federal was driven by a triple-expansion engine delivering 250 hp.

On the night of 9 March 1893, the SS Federal was driven ashore at the North Beakwater, Newcastle, NSW, and later refloated.

Federal Sinking — Wrecked on 21 March 1901

SS Federal Watercolour Painting
Source: State Library Victoria

On its final voyage, the Federal was under the command of Captain J Coull, with a crew of 29. It loaded at Port Campbell, with 3,486 tonnes of coal for Albany, Western Australia. Proceeding to sea on 20 March 1901, all went well until it rounded Gabo Island and entered Bass Strait, where the vessel met a severe south-west gale.

Other vessels in the vicinity at the time described conditions as extreme, with hurricane force winds and mountainous seas. The last reported sighting of the Federal was from a witness on board the ketch Violet. When off Cape Everard (now Point Hicks), he saw the SS Federal proceeding westward at 5:00 p.m. on 21 March 1901, it being about 5 miles offshore and to the westward of the Cape.

The wreck happened on 21 of March in 1901, but it wasn't actually reported until 2 April 1901. An article in the Mercury on 8 April 1901, reported five bodies had been found on a beach near Cape Everard in Victoria along with a boat "bearing the name of the ill-fated collier".

A Marine Court of Inquiry was held into the loss of the Federal but it was unable to come to any conclusion about what happened to it. The inquiry found that the crew likely had time to prepare to abandon ship because some of the bodies recovered wore life belts.

Heritage Warning: Any shipwreck or shipwreck relic that is 75 years or older is protected by legislation. Other items of maritime heritage 75 years or older are also protected by legislation. Activities such as digging for bottles, coins or other artefacts that involve the disturbance of archaeological sites may be in breach of the legislation, and penalties may apply. The legislation requires the mandatory reporting to Heritage Victoria as soon as practicable of any archaeological site that is identified. See Maritime heritage. Anyone with information about looting or stolen artefacts should call Heritage Victoria on (03) 7022 6390, or send an email to heritage.victoria@delwp.vic.gov.au.

Traditional Owners — This dive site does not lie in the acknowledged traditional Country of any first peoples of Australia.

Federal Location Map

Latitude: 38° 7.333′ S (38.122222° S / 38° 7′ 20″ S)
Longitude: 148° 43.850′ E (148.730833° E / 148° 43′ 51″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2022-05-09 13:30:13 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-10 03:11:10 GMT
Source: Australian Government
Nearest Neighbour: The Southern Pinnacle, 33,542 m, bearing 9°, N
Historic shipwreck protected zone.
Permit Required.
Steel Screw Steamer.
Built: 1890.
Sunk: 21 March 1901.
Point Hicks, Bass Strait.
Depth: 115 m.

[ Top ]

DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.