USAT Liberty (Tulamben)

Wreck

Depth: 5–30 mLevel: Open WaterAll year round

A United States Army transport of some 120 m, built in 1918 and used in the First World War to carry animals. On 11 January 1942, bound for the Philippines from Australia with a cargo of rubber and railway parts, she was torpedoed in the Lombok Strait by the Japanese submarine I-166. She did not sink: the USS Paul Jones and the Dutch Van Ghent tried to tow her to Singaraja, but she was taking on too much water and on 14 January they beached her at Tulamben to save the cargo.

Depth

5–30 m

Recommended level

Open Water

Average visibility

20 m

Did you know?

It lay stranded on the beach for 21 years, being stripped bit by bit by the locals, who carried off guns, chains and fittings. In 1963 the eruption of Mount Agung — the volcano's first awakening in 120 years — set off a series of tremors that pushed the ship into the water and broke its hull. In other words: it was sunk by a volcano, not a torpedo. Today it is regarded as one of the best shore dives in the world.

Sources consulted: ZuBlu Diving; Bali Aqua; Stingy Nomads; diving-indo.com

Location

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