November 2009 - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announced that the search for the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur is to begin in mid December.  The search is to be conducted in phases (Phases 1 and 2 deeptow side-scan sonar search and Phase 3 ROV video/photographic investigation) from the multi-purpose vessel Seahorse Spirit.  David Mearns is managing the project on behalf of Queensland's Department of Premier and Cabinet and will be directing the at-sea search attempt.

September 2009 - David Mearns’ new book The Search for the Sydney has made a number of bestsellers lists in Australia. The book is ranked the Number 3 non-fiction book in Australia by Nielsen BookScan; the Number 1 history book in Australia by The Sun Herald; and it is the Number 1 selling non-fiction book for the publishers HarperCollins.

August 2009 – David Mearns will be conducting a 12-date, 8-city promotional tour in connection with the launch of his latest book Search for the Sydney.  The tour is being organised by the publishers HarperCollins and will involve David giving illustrated lectures at each venue.  Click here for details of the tour dates and locations.

July 2009 – Launch of BWR’s new website.

July 2009 – Extracts from David Mearns’ latest book Search for the Sydney have been published in News Ltd. newspapers around Australia.  The book will be available for purchase in shops at the start of August.

June 2009 – David Mearns travelled to Brisbane, Australia to present his initial research findings on the probable sinking location of the hospital ship Centaur to a public forum of interested stakeholders.  The Queensland Deputy Premier Paul Lucas introduced David to the stakeholder group at Parliament house and together they jointly addressed a press conference on the project’s progress.

March 2009 – Blue Water Recoveries has been awarded a contract by the Queensland Government’s Department of Premier & Cabinet for project management services in connection with the Finding Centaur Project.  David Mearns has been appointed the project manager and search director for the location of this hospital ship that was sunk by a Japanese submarine on 14 May 1943 with the loss of 268 lives.