Peninsula maritime museum project sunk if ex HMAS Otama is lost
A passionate group of Mornington Peninsula volunteers fear the days are numbered for a beloved silent killer of the ocean.
South East
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HMAS Otama will be moved from the Mornington Peninsula and ‘cut up for scrap’ unless a volunteer group can come up with $1 million.
Western Port Oberon Association president Max Bryant said the group was told on Monday night that the submarine no longer met safety requirements.
“Parks Victoria want us to sign her over to them so they can move her from offshore at Crib Point and take her away to be cut up for scrap,” Mr Bryant said.
“They’re in a hurry too. They want it done in weeks.”
The news was a shock to the group which had been working with the authority, the Port of Hastings and Ports Victoria to secure the vessel after it listed following severe storms in June.
On June 23 Maritime Safety Victoria issued a warning to mariners that the vessel was at risk of “capsizing or possibly sinking imminently”.
According to Parks Victoria the heavily corroded ballast and fuel tanks on the starboard side caused the vessel to take on water and list up to 41 degrees.
Parks Victoria returned the sub to a vertical position on June 30 and was working with the Port of Hastings Development Authority and Ports Victoria to move it to a temporary, shallow mooring near Crib Point Jetty.
The relocation is expected to happen next week.
Parks Victoria Regional Director Marine and Maritime Jo Richards said it was not safe for the sub to stay in Western Port.
“The vessel condition has deteriorated over time and now requires constant inspection and pumping out of water, which is unsustainable,” Ms Richards said.
“It is unable to stay in Western Port as it remains a real risk to the environment.“
She said the authority would continue to work with the Western Port Oberon Association, the owners of the vessel and the Commonwealth on the future of the Otama.
However, Mr Bryant said the sub was “water tight where it matters” and was in no danger of sinking.
He said the group needed up to $1 million to bring the sub to shore and “buy time” to do major repairs and make it “truly seaworthy”.
Ultimately, the group wants to make the Otama a focal point of a proposed maritime centre at Hastings.
The plan has been in the pipeline since the 90m long, 2040 tonne sub was towed to the region from WA in 2003.
The relocation was made possible by a $500,000 Federal Government grant.
The ex-HMAS Otama was commissioned in 1978 by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne.
It was decommissioned in 2000.
In-principle approval to build the maritime centre on reclaimed land adjacent to the Western Port Marina at Hastings was granted in 2013.
“It’s devastating to learn that there is still no support for a project that preserves important maritime history and honours our men and women who have served in the Royal Australian Navy and Merchant Navy,” Mr Bryant said.
