Visitors to a popular Sunshine Coast beach have been left curious and confused by gleaming green water on the shoreline.
Beachgoers were captivated by the sight around the rocks at the southern end of Kings Beach on Tuesday.
Ashley Hodges captured photos of the water.
She also photographed an air drop pack that at least provided some clues.
“Kings Beach today was a bit odd,” she said.
“Turns out it wasn’t nuclear waste or sea dragon blood … it was a fluorescent marine marker.”
The photos prompted plenty of conversation on social media.
Jason Geoffreys said marine dye marker could been used for search and rescue operations, water flow and current studies, environmental monitoring or navigation and marine operations.
Luke Coleman joked: “It’s just coolant, it’s all good.”
Diane Smile wondered if officials were “checking the drainage systems” while Rhonda Cornwell said the incident was “pretty gross”.
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Sunshine Coast News contacted Maritime Safety Queensland, the Department of Environment and Science, Sunshine Coast Council and the Queensland Police Service, but they were unable to provide any further information. SCN was also waiting for comments from the Department of Defence.
The label on the air drop pack stated that the marine dye had expired 10 months ago. It was manufactured in Australia for Drew Marine Signal and Safety Australia. There was an email address for Aurora Marine – a supplier of distress signals – which is part of the Wescom Group.
Wescom Signal and Rescue Australia warehouse supervisor Damien Famularo explained the product, after being contacted by SCN.
“(It) is a daytime emergency distress signal widely used for search and rescue, and is often used for the training of search and rescue personnel in both defence and commercial operations,” he said.
“It is used for marking a location at sea and, when seen from the air during the day, it fluoresces and spreads out with the current, making it easier to spot the target.
“(It is) a non-hazardous, environmentally friendly way to assist daytime visual location at sea.”
The Pains Wessex product is called SeaMark, and there is a picture of a search and rescue plane on the label.
According to the Department of Defence website, SeaMark was developed by defence scientists as a “safe, effective and longer-lasing alternative to flares and smoke signals for search and rescue at sea”.
It apparently dissolves slowly and 100g of SeaMark dye can cover an area about 100m long and be seen from up to 10km.
The dye is “environmentally safe, not injurious to human health and can be stored for several years”. It lasts for more than an hour in water.
Why a pack was opened at Kings Beach remains a mystery, for now.
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