Ex HMAS Brisbane

The Ex HMAS Brisbane is considered one of the best wreck dive sites in the world.

Located 2.9 nautical miles from Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, the wreck is 15-28 metres below the surface.

The ship was once a Charles F Adams Class DDC guided-missile destroyer of some 5,000 tonnes. It was used by the Royal Australian Navy back in 1967 until its decommissioning in 2001. The ship served in the Gulf and Vietnam wars, as well as helped several humanitarian missions. Today, the wreck is a terrific dive adventure and also acts as an artificial coral reef.

The Ex HMAS Brisbane is a majestic sight underwater, sitting upright, all 133 metres of her! Many different fish species call the wreck home; these include various turtle species such as hawksbill and loggerheads, rays, octopus, and nudibranch, plus many soft and hard coral that cover its surface.

Lucky divers may get the opportunity to encounter a leopard shark, massive Queensland groupers, lionfish, blennies, anglerfish, batfish, red emperor, yellowtail kingfish, and many more.

As the biggest diveable wreck in all of Queensland, it’s undoubtedly bucket-list worthy. It’s also good to know that it was correctly scuttled by cutting large holes on the length of each side of the ship so that divers can easily enter and exit. There is no possibility of getting lost or tangled anywhere on the ship, and there are hardly any sediments on the floor, so it’s completely safe even for beginners. Interested divers can choose to book from several certified dive trip operators in the area.

The Ex HMAS Brisbane is the dive of a lifetime – don’t miss it!