Australian researchers to uncover more about Australia's greatest naval tragedy

A joint expedition to discover more about Australia's greatest naval tragedy -- the sinking of Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney -- has begun off the coast of Western Australia on Monday.

The project, undertaken by Curtin University and the WA Museum, will investigate, scan and map the site, so that conservation plans can be put in place to preserve the wreck for further research.

The wreck was only discovered in 2008, off Shark Bay on Australia's north-west coast, close to the wreck of German cruiser HSK Kormoran.

The two ships engaged in battle in 1941, at the height of World War II. The Kormoran was disguised as a Dutch merchant vessel, and used the element of surprise to launch an attack on the Australian war boat.

All 645 seamen aboard the Sydney perished, but not before the Kormoran was also irreparably damaged and later scuttled, leaving great mystery surrounding the events of the battle and the whereabouts of the wrecks.

A remotely operated vehicle will travel out to the wreck site on Monday to scan both the Sydney and the Kormoran.

As part of the project, scans will provide a platform for a virtual tour of the wreck to be featured in the WA museum, and Western Australia's Arts and Culture Minister John Day said a virtual experience would interest visitors, but also provide great insight for researchers working on dry land.

"It is imperative the WA Museum digitally captures the heritage value of the ships now and plans, as much as possible, for their protection and conservation," he said.

Alec Coles from the WA Museum said the project would also serve to help scientists come up with management plans at the site of the dual wrecks.

"We need to see how they're standing up in there," he said.

"When they were actually found in 2008 they were in remarkably good condition," he said, adding "We just need to know what rate they're corroding so we can come up with some kind of conservation management plan." Endi