Qld: Centaur search crew find second 'promising target'

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2009
Qld: Centaur search crew find second 'promising target'

BRISBANE, Dec 16 AAP - A second promising target has been found by shipwreck hunters
continuing to scan the ocean floor off Brisbane for the sunken hospital ship Centaur.

The search crew, headed by the man who found HMAS Sydney II, David Mearns, on Wednesday
detected a second target about the right shape and size of the Centaur using sonar equipment.

The crew are searching in Moreton Bay off southeast Queensland's coast where the ship
was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during World War II, killing 268 Australians.

The first "promising target" was found by Mr Mearns' crew during their first of 15
tracklines on Tuesday.

Five tracklines have now been completed and Mr Mearns said he would take a second look
at both possible Centaur objects with higher resolution sonar settings at a later date.

"While these two targets are roughly the right size and shape of the Centaur, I would
not want to give the impression that we believe we may have found the wreck," Mr Mearns
said on his blog.

"If any target we find at any time completely fits what I am looking for in terms of
matching the characteristics of Centaur's wreckage then I would divert the search immediately
to investigate.

"The two targets we have already found don't quite fit that bill and for this reason
the search continues."

The second phase of the search will involve using a remotely operated submersible vessel
to confirm the wreck's location.

The search is being funded by the state and federal governments.

AAP djb/pjo/cdh

KEYWORD: CENTAUR WRAP

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