Search for HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
While 315 survivors from Kormoran were rescued by 30 November, the only confirmed trace of Sydney found by the searchers was a single empty lifeboat recovered by HMAS Heros.
While the location of the battle as reported by German sailors and their commander had been confirmed by oceanographic evidence, researchers were unsure of the whereabouts of Sydney.
Due to dissension among the researchers present, claims that the battle had taken place near the Abrolhos Islands, and a lack of hard evidence and wreckage relating to Sydney, the SPC found against conducting a search.
Nonetheless, after the Foundation Trust folded, the non-profit organisation HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd planned an attempt to locate the wrecks.
[3] The group entered into a memorandum of understanding with Mearns, who believed he could find the wrecks using the latest sonar technology and recently discovered details recorded by Theodor Detmers, commander of Kormoran.
According to McDonald, many residents of Port Gregory, about 80 kilometres (43 nmi) north of Geraldton, reported the sights and sounds of a naval battle at about the time that Sydney and Kormoran engaged.
Independent researcher Warren Whittaker, who had presented evidence at the 2001 seminar based on his and Lindsay Knight's experimental wreck-locating system, wrote in The Weekend Australian in July 2006, reiterating his belief that HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd was looking in the wrong area.
[8] Through hindcasting based on the known movements of flotsam and the lifeboats from Kormoran, Whittaker incorrectly surmised that both ships would be located just west of the Abrolhos Islands.
[9] Geo Subsea used a hull-mounted multibeam echo sounder (MBES) system, capable of scanning the seabed for 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) on either side of the search vessel MV Geosounder, at depths of up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft).
Mearns said that the site "was ideal for searching with Geosounder's MBES because the average depth is only 850 metres (2,790 ft) and the seabed is relatively flat and featureless with a gentle slope of only 1.4 to 2 degrees.
If a ship the size of Kormoran (157 metres long and 9,400 GRT), which was the biggest auxiliary cruiser used by the Kriegsmarine in WWII, had exploded and sunk on the site it would clearly show up in the MBES images..."[9] In June 2007 British maritime researcher Timothy Akers, a former employee of Mearns, claimed to have located the wreck of the Sydney, along with wrecks from a Japanese battle group, using high quality satellite imagery.
[10] This claim was disputed by the Western Australia Museum and Ted Graham, the chairman of HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd, who said it was not possible to locate the wreck using satellite imagery.
[22] Several small donations were made by companies and the public, but plans to search for the ships were on hold until the Australian government approved another A$2.9 million in funds in October 2007.
The lifeboat would have been affected by oar and sail power in addition to ocean currents, and most researchers focused on deriving a specific point from the analysis instead of determining a general search area.
[25] After locating one or both vessels, the search ship would return to port and replace the sonar with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to photograph and video the wrecks.
[30] Geosounder was scheduled to depart early on 29 February, but a series of problems requiring last-minute modifications delayed departure until after 16:00, and the ship had to return to port that evening because of a fuel leak.
[35] Using the newly discovered wreck and German accounts describing Sydney's heading, speed, and last sighting after the battle, a 20 by 18 nautical miles (37 by 33 km) search box for the cruiser was calculated.
[48] A possible battle site was located during the sonar search, but observation with the ROV revealed that what was thought to be debris from the ships were actually outcrops of pillow lava.
