USAT Liberty Wreck

Amed & Tulamben

Description

Dive Site Facts

Main Dive Region: Tulamben

Difficulty: Intermediate

Type of Dive: Wreck

Access: Boat

Sealife (* to ****): 3***

Depth: 6-30 m

Current: None

Water Temp. (avg) from: 27 C

Water Temp. (avg) to: 29 C

Visibility (avg): 16 m

Big Fish: Morays, Octopus

Terrain: Coral Reef, Sand, Rock

Contour: Slope

USAT Liberty Wreck

What a wreck! Dive down to the USAT Liberty and enjoy an amazing wreck dive – especially at night. You won’t regret it!

For some, the no.1 dive site in Bali!

This dive spot is rightfully the most famous in Bali. The USAT Liberty is a WWII casualty. Every part of the wreck hides little treasures to explore, and the site offers relatively easy conditions. The wreck is about 120 meters long, with the shallowest parts at around 5 meters and the deepest parts at 30 meters. Try to dive early in the morning before the groups arrive around 11 am. Night dives with a torch are particularly impressive! Let’s all keep it in good condition, as some divers can damage the corals with their fins and gauges.

Fauna & Flora

Hard and soft corals. Giant barracuda, garden eel, giant groupers, blue-spotted stingrays, bumphead parrotfish, moray eels, surgeonfish, lionfish, scorpionfish, jacks, leafy scorpionfish, frogfish, nudibranchs, octopus, and batfish.

The Story Behind the Wreck

The USAT Liberty was originally a cargo ship outfitted for WWII with a stern gun and a bow gun (both still in place). In January 1942, a Japanese submarine attacked the ship in the Lombok Strait, hitting it with a torpedo. Two destroyers towed the damaged vessel towards Singaraja for repairs, but they only made it as far as Tulamben. The ship, carrying railroad parts and rubber, was beached to prevent it from sinking. In 1963, the eruption of Mount Agung shook the area, causing the vessel to roll off and finally sink. The ship was built in 1918, measuring 120 meters long and weighing over 6,000 tons.