Back From Dead: 50 years on, MV Blythe Star that sank off Tasmania finally found sitting upright on seabed

After nearly 50 years since its sinking off the coast of Tasmania, a CSIRO investigation has successfully determined the precise location of the MV Blythe Star shipwreck.

On October 13, 1973, while on its routine voyage from Hobart to King Island, the vessel experienced a starboard list, leading to water ingress and eventual capsizing.

Following the incident, ten crew members managed to board an inflatable life raft and endured nine days at sea in increasingly severe weather conditions. Tragically, one crew member lost their life during this period.

The remaining nine survivors embarked on a challenging journey, attempting to trek from their landing spot at Deep Glen Bay on the Forestier Peninsula.

Regrettably, two more crew members succumbed to exhaustion and hypothermia during this arduous ordeal.

It wasn’t until October 26, almost two weeks later, that the survivors were finally rescued. A small group of them managed to find their way to a road, where they successfully flagged down a passing motorist for assistance.

Despite extensive maritime searches conducted over the years, no trace of the sunken vessel had been discovered until now.

In a recent development, researchers from the CSIRO and the University of Tasmania, while studying a submarine landslide, stumbled upon the MV Blythe Star shipwreck approximately 10.5km west of Tasmania’s South West Cape.

Utilizing mapping data and video imagery, the team confirmed that the wreckage they encountered was indeed the long-lost MV Blythe Star.

Solving a 50-year-old maritime mystery.