Navy Diver Sets New Record Exploring Wreck

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Lieutenant Ruslan Pnevski, a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) clearance diver, broke his own record by diving 160 meters to explore the SS Nemesis wreck off Wollongong, New South Wales (NSW), during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. This article details his daring feat, the historical significance of the wreck, and the strategic importance of such dives in showcasing Australia’s naval prowess.

In July 2025, Lieutenant Ruslan Pnevski, part of the Sydney Project dive team, descended to the SS Nemesis, a coal hauler lost in a 1904 storm, untouched for 120 years until its recent discovery. The dive, part of Talisman Sabre 2025—a joint exercise with 35,000 troops from 19 nations—pushed Pnevski past his previous depth record. Departing Wollongong at 5:30 AM, the team faced rough seas, complicating the shot line placement used to guide divers to the wreck. By 11:00 AM, Pnevski and three others plunged into the darkening depths, reaching the wreck at 160 meters—one of Australia’s deepest. “More people have climbed Everest than dived to 100 meters, and 160 is a whole new level,” Pnevski told Defence News, highlighting the dive’s rarity and challenge.

The SS Nemesis, found by a company searching for lost shipping containers, offered a glimpse into maritime history. Pnevski’s footage, captured on underwater cameras, revealed the wreck’s eerie preservation, shared with the surface crew upon his 6:00 PM return. As an instructor at the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Diving School, Pnevski’s expertise underscores the RAN’s commitment to excellence in high-risk operations. This dive, conducted amid Talisman Sabre’s broader mission to counter regional threats like China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, signals Australia’s resolve to maintain a strong defense posture, despite X posts criticizing the Labour government’s defense spending priorities.

Pnevski’s record-breaking dive not only advances maritime archaeology but also strengthens Australia’s strategic capabilities. His plans to produce a documentary with Heritage NSW will preserve the Nemesis story for future generations. In an era of growing Indo-Pacific tensions, such feats highlight the ADF’s readiness and skill, proving that Australia’s divers are among the world’s elite, fearless in the face of the ocean’s depths.