Success Bank is a sandbank in Cockburn Sound

Cockburn Sound

Cockburn Sound is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Western Australia. It extends from the south of the mouth of the Swan River at Fremantle for about 25 km to Cape Peron near Rockingham and is located at...

, off Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

. It is about 5 metres (16.4 ft) deep and is just to the south of the main shipping channel of Gage Roads

Gage Roads

Gage Roads, is the sea channel in the Indian Ocean offshore from Perth, Western Australia. It was the location of the America's Cup defence in 1986/7, and serves as a shipping lane and anchorage for most sea traffic heading towards the seaport of Fremantle....

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Success Bank was named by Captain James Stirling

James Stirling (Australian governor)

Admiral Sir James Stirling RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia...

 after his ship HMS Success

HMS Success (1825)

HMS Success was an Atholl-class 28-gun sixth-rate wooden sailing ship notable for exploring Western Australia and the Swan River in 1827 as well as being one of the first ships to arrive at the fledgling Swan River Colony two years later, at which time she ran aground off Carnac Island.- History...

 which was used for a preliminary exploration of the Swan River

Swan River (Western Australia)

The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....

 region in 1827. On 28 November 1829, HMS Success revisited Western Australia and ran aground on Carnac Reef, a shoal further to the south, causing extensive damage.

Description

The sandbank extends about 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the coast in a West and North-Westerly direction and is up to 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) wide. It covers an area of 1205 hectares (2,977.6 acre). Two approximately 15 metres (49.2 ft) deep man-made shipping channels dissect the sandbar, built for the Fremantle Port Authority to carry cargo and other deep water ships to and from Owen Anchorage.

Success Bank is covered extensively with the seagrass

Seagrass

Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...

es Posidonia

Posidonia

Posidonia is a genus of flowering plants. It contains two to nine species of marine plants , found in the seas of the Mediterranean and around the south coast of Australia....

and Amphibolis griffithii

Amphibolis griffithii

Amphibolis griffithii is a seagrass found in waters along the southwestern coasts of Western Australia. -Description:A common marine herb, the rhizomatous plant forms meadows which stabilise sands; the intertwining roots and leaves protects the substrate from ocean currents...

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Parmelia Bank is slightly smaller and runs approximately parallel to Success Bank, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) further south extending from Woodman Point.