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USAT Liberty - Indonesia


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USAT Liberty is a shore accessible salt water dive site, located in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. This dive site has an average rating of 4.20 out of 5 from 20 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 101-110ft/31-34m. The average visibility is 91-100ft/28-30m.

Shore dive to the Wreck of the "Liberty". Because of the stone beach a little careful water entry. Sea bottom further on black sand because of the vulcanic origin. Wreck itself is an oase of marine life. Shallow and broken enough for easy acces and exploration. Plenty of parking is available on site. Air fills are found at dive shops around dive site, but not on the actual site itself. Very crowded during diving seasons (or so the guide told me), but usually pretty good number of divers are around you.

More info shorediving.com/Earth/Pacific/Bali/USAT/index.htm

From SportDiver Planet’s 50 Greatest Dives, #35, One of the world’s best wrecks accessible from shore, the USAT Liberty was a casualty of Japanese torpedoes in World War II, left abandoned on Tulamben’s rocky beach, then pushed 100 feet offshore by lava from Mount Agung’s 1963 eruption. Snorkelers can glimpse the Liberty in just 10 feet of water, but you’ll be glad you’ve strapped on tanks to relish the deeper, wide-angle views of a wreck encrusted with sponges and corals, and macro treasures like ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs. — TW

sportdiver.com/photos/planets-50-greatest-dives?c...ortId=MjEwMzc3MDk1S0

From SportDiver magazine;
“If we were talking about serious wreck penetration, the Liberty wouldn’t even be considered,” says Simon Pridmore, Indonesia dive guidebook author. “As a recreational dive, it’s nearly perfect: It’s a big, interesting historical wreck, and it has pretty much everything you need.” The 411-foot-long Liberty lies off the beach of Tulamben, a fishing village on the Indonesian island of Bali. In 1963, lava pushed it to its current location in the sea, where it sits with a maximum depth of 100 feet. Most of the wreck is much shallower, starting at 13 feet. “It’s also very open,” says Pridmore. “It was broken up on the beach, spread out by lava and, every year, storms break it up a bit more.” This fractured structure creates a warren of interest points to map, with highlights that include the rudder, boilers, massive cargo holds and the coral-covered stern gun. The wreck also offers several swim-throughs, one of which spans 80 well-lit feet — in other words, the Liberty is anything but enclosed. “The fun is trying to figure out what is what,” Pridmore says. “The coral growth is astonishing.”

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Comments

duke29 - 6/04/2017 10:52 PM
Rating Added: 4
Great dive site, I did the Wreck Diver Specialty course here.
Ikan - 6/22/2016 11:41 PM
Rating Added: 4
Been there many times. Encountered school of flashlight fish (rare) once during one of night dives near the shipwreck. The nearby wall dive south of the ship wreck was also nice. In between the shipwreck and the wall, you could see tons of purple soft corals at 90 feet of water.
Nprimadina - 7/11/2015 2:58 AM
Rating Added: 4
I used to be here when taking my diving liscense... it is cheapest than other spot because we don’t need to use a boat to reach the dive spot..just swim from the beach..
Unfortunately the water was not so clear but..i have some good underwater photographs while being here
NewtoScubaHB2 - 5/13/2014 2:51 AM
I went scuba diving here on 5/9/2014. Average viz: 36-40ft/11-12m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Loved the site. The Liberty is amazing. Lots of variety of fish. Did not see any Sea Horses, but did see a large Sea Turtle. I recommend Bali Scuba Masters. In my case I went as a single diver with no gear, and was picked up in Nusa Dua. They provided me a buddy and I got to take my wife along to snorkel.
NewtoScubaHB2 - 5/13/2014 2:40 AM
Rating Added: 4
Was awesome with variety of fish. Wanted to see Sea Horses, but saw too many fish species to count.
LatitudeAdjustment - 5/30/2009 7:11 AM
Rocks on entry, two or three divers walk in together holding on to one another, only one moves a foot at a time. Wreck starts shallow, nice growth, bait ball above. On way back lots of sting rays, big moray with cleaner shrimp, sweet lips, Moorish idols and two different kinds of Garden ells between the wreck anf the beach.