An unexploded 45kg bomb has been towed into deep waters five months after being found off the New South Wales coast.
The weapon was found in late April by a fisherman on Lord Howe Islands Elizabeth Reef. Defence personnel said it could have posed a significant risk to the general public.
The local angler was visiting the reef, about 550km off the coast of NSW, with his wife and photographed his discovery and reported it to authorities.
Navy divers aboard HMAS Adelaide carefully removed the abandoned explosive on 25 September by floating it to the surface and towing it further out to sea where it was dropped into 550-metre-deep waters.
Australian Clearance Diving Team One prepare their diving equipment on a Zodiac inflatable boat near Elizabeth Reef. Photograph: ABIS Sittichai sakonpoonpol/AAP
That depth is really safe. Its not going to ever get washed back up onto the reef, senior marine parks officer John Pritchard said.
Theres no deep-sea fishing or trawling allowed out there. Its a recreational fishing zone only.
The chances of that UXO (unexploded ordinance) ever coming back to the surface is negligible.
The origin of the bomb is not known and divers couldnt estimate its age owing to deterioration, a spokesman for the federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, said.
Australian Clearance Diving Team One searching for the unexploded bomb in the vicinity of Elizabeth Reef. Photograph: ABIS Sittichai sakonpoonpol/AAP
Bombs of that size were used as long ago as the first world war, sometimes dropped from aircraft to target submarines.
The ministers spokesman said the difficult operation was complicated further by the Covid-19 pandemic and took five months to be realised, during which time the reef was closed to visitors.
Ley said the fisherman and navy divers had potentially saved lives and one of Australias most important reefs.
The device was regarded as live by the navy and the consequences could have been quite frightening, she said in a statement on Sunday.
Thankfully the reefs precious ecosystem is safe and most importantly so are future visitors.
Elizabeth Reef is about 160km north of world heritage-listed Lord Howe Island and spans 8.2km by 5.5km.
Along with nearby Middleton Reef, it is the southernmost coral reef platform in the world.
Theres been 125 corals identified there [and] over 300 species of fish, Pritchard said.
Its quite a unique environment and, because its so far from anywhere, its relatively untouched.
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