HMAS Adelaide — Raja Ampat

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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Raja Ampat location page.

Overview

The HMAS Adelaide is a scuttled guided-missile frigate creating an artificial reef off the coast of New South Wales, Australia. This impressive wreck offers multiple penetration points and a diverse array of marine life for advanced divers.

Briefing note

Permits are required for diving the HMAS Adelaide. Check with local dive operators.

What you'll see

3 species curated

Grey Nurse Shark
seasonal
Peak: Nov · Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr
Yellowtail Kingfish
year-round
Giant Cuttlefish
seasonal
Peak: May · Jun · Jul · Aug

Sightings evidence

1 record on file

Grey Nurse Shark
medium confidence
Last confirmed
Apr 2026
Recent records
45 within 10 km
Cluster months
Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr

Sources & methodology

How we summarise this

We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.

Sources

Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
FishBase — FishBase Consortium
Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation

Conditions

Month	Water	Visibility	Current
Jan	22–24 °C	15–25 m	moderate
Feb	22–24 °C	15–25 m	moderate
Mar	21–23 °C	15–20 m	moderate
Apr	20–22 °C	15–20 m	moderate
May	18–20 °C	10–15 m	moderate
Jun	17–19 °C	10–15 m	moderate
Jul	16–18 °C	10–15 m	moderate
Aug	16–18 °C	10–15 m	moderate
Sep	17–19 °C	10–15 m	moderate
Oct	18–20 °C	15–20 m	moderate
Nov	20–22 °C	15–25 m	moderate
Dec	21–23 °C	15–25 m	moderate

Season calendar

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Peak season highlighted · current month outlined

Next step

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