WA ‘iceberg’ most likely a ship: Authorities

Footage of an ‘iceberg’ off WA’s south coast is most likely an optical illusion, according to authorities.

A Denmark local shared the footage which shows a large white object on the horizon of the Southern Ocean on Sunday.

From first glance it appears similar to an iceberg, which have rarely, if ever, been sighted in waters off WA’s coast.

However, a spokesman for Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it was likely a ship, appearing different, due to an optical illusion known as Fata Morgana.

“It is an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions,” the spokesman said.

The Bureau of Meteorology also said it was extremely unlikely an iceberg would drift so far north from Antarctic waters.

The man who shot the video said other people at the beach also believed it was an iceberg.

“I shot it with an iPad...it was hard to believe what we were looking at,” he said.

The man said they viewed the object through binoculars and it appeared to be an iceberg.

The coast off Albany and Denmark is a busy shipping lane, with dozens of ships off the coast at any one time.