Appalling abuses beneath the waves (6)

I believe the answer is:

subsea

'beneath the waves' is the definition.
(under the sea)

'appalling abuses' is the wordplay.
'appalling' is an anagram indicator (an appalling spelling of the letters).
'abuses' anagrammed gives 'SUBSEA'.

(Other definitions for subsea that I've seen before include "under the surface" , "in water" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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