VHB 53

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Steel Hopper Barge | Max Depth: 57 m (187 ft) — Graveyard

The VHB 53 shipwreck is the remains of a steel hopper barge that was scuttled in the Victorian Ships' Graveyard on 19 February 1971. The VHB 53 is a sister ship to the VHB 54.

Diving the VHB 53 Shipwreck

There is some penetration diving available at the stern. Some horizontal beams midships seem to keep the wreck in-tact. There is also a large cogged wheel that was used to open the doors for the dredged material to be dumped. It sits on the ocean floor on the starboard stern about 15 metres away.

Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.

VHB 53 Shipwreck History

The overall length of the VHB 53 was approximately 150 ft (46 m), with a beam of 18.5 ft (5.64 m).

The VHB 53 was brought out from Holland in 1950 when the Australian Dredging and General Works Pty Ltd began a contract for dredging works at the entrance to the Yarra River. The task was to remove silt from the area to the east of the river entrance. Later this excavation would be developed into the present Webb Dock. Vessels brought out from Holland for this contract included the bucket dredge Beverwijk 19, the unpowered hopper barges VHB-53 and VHB 54, a diesel tug, two diesel hopper barges, plus other small attending craft.

VHB 53 Sinking — Scuttled 19 February 1971

The VHB 53 was towed out to the Victorian Ships' Graveyard in Bass Strait and scuttled on Friday 19 February 1971.

Heritage Warning: Any shipwreck or shipwreck relic that is 75 years or older is protected by legislation. Other items of maritime heritage 75 years or older are also protected by legislation. Activities such as digging for bottles, coins or other artefacts that involve the disturbance of archaeological sites may be in breach of the legislation, and penalties may apply. The legislation requires the mandatory reporting to Heritage Victoria as soon as practicable of any archaeological site that is identified. See Maritime heritage. Anyone with information about looting or stolen artefacts should call Heritage Victoria on (03) 7022 6390, or send an email to heritage.victoria@delwp.vic.gov.au.

Traditional Owners — This dive site does not lie in the acknowledged traditional Country of any first peoples of Australia.

VHB 53 Location Map

Latitude: 38° 21.645′ S (38.360743° S / 38° 21′ 38.67″ S)
Longitude: 144° 26.216′ E (144.436935° E / 144° 26′ 12.97″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-11 12:10:35 GMT
Source: Book - Victoria's Ships' Graveyard GPS (verified)
Nearest Neighbour: Casablanca, 298 m, bearing 145°, SE
Steel Hopper Barge.
Scuttled: 19 February 1971.
Victorian Ships' Graveyard, Bass Strait.
Depth: 52 to 57 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.