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SS CHEYNES III (1982)

Albany, Western Australia

Whale chaser

VESSEL DETAILS
Launched:
1947, United Kingdom, as Thorgrim
Sank:                          
1982, scuttled  
Length:
47.9 metres (157’)
Beam:
8.3 metres (27’)
Displacement:
441 tons
Speed:
15 knots
Crew:
11
Passengers:            
Nil

WARNING: Wrecks should not be penetrated without proper training & equipment!

NOTE: All wrecks and related artifacts older than 75 years in Australian waters are protected by the Australian Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. Nothing can be taken!

INFORMATION
Whaling was Australia’s first primary industry and was ranked in importance along with wool from the 1790’s until the gold rush in the 1850’s.

Cheynes Beach Whaling Company operated with a fleet of whale chasers fitted with explosive-head harpoons from 1952 to 1978 .

Sadly, the company was responsible for the destruction of 14,600 sperm whales and 1,500 humpback whales in its 26 years of operation.

Although hunting humpback whales was banned in 1963, the company continued to hunt other species of whale.

A female sperm whale was the last whale slaughtered by the company and its whale station in Albany was last whaling station to cease operations in Australia.

The whale chaser SS Cheynes IV has been preserved as an exhibit at the Albany’s Historic Whale Station museum and in the early 1980’s local diving identity Les Bail arranged to have the Cheynes III scuttled as a dive site.

It was the first ship deliberately scuttled for recreational scuba divers in the Southern Hemisphere and was visited by over 1,000 divers in the first 12 months.

She lies upright, listing slightly to port, on sand in 22 metres (72’) of water just off the sheltered western side of Michaelmas Island in the King George Sound.

Although now broken two, much of the superstructure is still present and covered with sponges, colourful soft corals and sea stars. The sides of the wreck are carpeted with sea squirts and the rudder and propeller are well worth a visit.

The hulk supports huge schools of bullseye and is regularly visited by pelagic fish such as trevally, Sampson fish and the odd tuna.

More sedentary fish such as western blue devils, Queen snapper, harlequin fish, and blue groper also make the wreck their home.

Hard to spot leafy seadragons can also be found amongst the kelp near the wreck.

Special thanks to Gary Wellstead from Southcoast Diving Supplies.
Copyright © 2025 Steve Sinclair

DIVE DETAILS
Scuba:                                      
Open Water
Snorkelling:                           
Too deep for snorkelling but freediving allowed
Access:                                     
Boat only (20 minutes)
Depth:                                      
14-22 metres (45-70’)
Visibility:                                
10-25 metres (30-80’)
Water temperature:           
16 – 21°C (61-70°F)
Seasonal:                                
No, but November to May best

OTHER GREAT DIVES WHILE IN THE AREA
Ex-HMAS Perth, Seal Cove, The Cables, The Caves and Two Sisters.

2026 GREAT AUSTRALIAN DIVE CHALLENGE
Dive Registration
To register this dive for validation, go to: www.50greatdives.com.
NOTE: Entrants should do this dive with one of the following preferred dive services.

DIVE SERVICES

DIVE TRAVEL SERVICES