Key SA wave buoy to be redeployed a third time after lightning damage

South Australia's long-suffering wave buoy is expected to be redeployed this week following a "lightning strike" in autumn that caused another lengthy outage.

The Bureau of Meteorology's (BOM) wave buoy off Cape du Couedic on Kangaroo island has suffered three outages since August 2024, including one that went for nine months.

It has only been functional for about 10 months in two years.

It most recently stopped transmitting data nearly four months ago on May 30 during stormy weather.

"Investigation of the damaged wave buoy showed severe electrical damage consistent with a lightning strike,"

a BOM spokesperson said.

"There are significant weather extremes where the Cape du Couedic wave buoy is located which can impact the equipment itself, but also the safety of retrieval and maintenance operations."

Its troubles began in mid-2024 when the buoy started transmitting erroneous data and was taken offline in September.

The spokesperson said the bureau faced "global shortages for specialist replacement equipment [the mooring], causing delays for the Cape du Couedic wave buoy to return to service".

It took nine months to fix the buoy.

Then about five months later in November 2025 a mooring failure caused it to break free and wash up on Kangaroo Island, putting it out of commission for another six weeks.

The BOM spokesperson said the current issue was different and the bureau had "prioritised retrieving, assessing and reinstating the wave buoy, subject to weather conditions and safety requirements".

"Return to service was dependent on the cause of the outage and available parts once the buoy was recovered," they said.

"Replacement parts have been procured. Repairs and redeployment is planned for this week, pending an appropriate period of safe weather conditions."

A critical weather station

When functioning, the wave buoy issues real time and historical data about significant and maximum wave heights, average and peak wave period, and swell direction.

Its data is used by commercial fishers, considered critical by the likes of abalone divers, as well as recreational fishers, divers and surfers.

It is the only wave buoy operated by BOM in SA and fishers and divers have been increasingly frustrated by the outages.

The ABC has asked the bureau how much money has been spent on repairs to the buoy since August 2024, but costs have not been divulged.

"The bureau spent $96.5 million on a website which did not meet the needs of Australians while basic weather infrastructure has been allowed to fail," said federal opposition spokesperson for the environment David Nouri.

"This goes to priorities and competence. The bureau is already facing an independent review after the website debacle, while the auditor-general has found it was only partly effective at managing the assets in its observing network.

"South Australians are entitled to know how much has been spent trying to repair this buoy and why a permanent solution has not been delivered.

"Environment Minister Murray Watt should be demanding the bureau get the basics right."

The office of federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has been contacted several times during the outages but has directed inquiries back to the bureau.