Diving Bali: The USAT Liberty Wreck at Tulamben
Early morning at Tulamben
The wreck of the United States Army Transport (USAT) ship Liberty at Tulamben is without doubt the most popular diving location in Bali, and virtually every morning around 08.00 you will see the beach filling up with divers who have traveled up from the south to dive the wreck.
Add to that the divers who are staying in Tulamben & are making their way from their resorts after breakfast and you get the idea – lots of divers.
But the wreck at 120m long, together with the various debris scattered around it, is a big site and as such can accommodate a large number of divers fairly comfortably.
Soft corals on the Liberty Wreck
However there is no doubt that the site is suffering from the sheer volume of visits it receives day after day. According to old hands who dived the wreck back in the 1980′s it was a magnificent example of how a complete eco-system can be created in a relatively short period of time, and an absolute testament to the fecundity of the rich Indonesian Throughflow eddies that pass through Tulamben Bay.
But it is clear that although still a tremendous dive the more fragile parts of that eco-system, such as the large table corals which proliferated on the wreck, have disappeared as a result of inexperienced divers or inconsiderate photographers wreaking their personal havoc…
The wreck itself is also showing clear signs of distress as it’s steel frame succumbs to corrosion – a process that can only be accelerated by diver’s bubbles when they contact the ship’s metal. The saving grace appears to be the rich waters of the Indonesian Throughflow which seem able to partially mitigate the damage inflicted by humans and nourish the marine life on the wreck.
The Liberty wreck really is a great site and one that deserves several dives just to get an understanding of the layout of the wreck and once familiar with the site, the fun really begins & the regular visitor is rewarded by really seeing the rich treasure trove it has to offer.
Diving Bali: History of the USAT Liberty Wreck at Tulamben
The Liberty, contrary to urban myth and what it’s name suggests, is not a Liberty class ship – it was actually built in 1918, at the end pf WWI as a freighter in Kearny, New Jersey by the Federal Shipbuilding Company, with a length of 120m & beam of 17m, it’s draft was 24m and a gross tonnage of 6211 tons. At the start of WWII it was requisitioned, fitted out with guns on the bow & the stern, and then operated by the US Army as a transport ship.
At 04.15 on the morning of the 11th January, 1942 it was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-166 in the Lombok Straits as it was passing through in a convoy of ships taking supplies from Australia to the Allied campaign in the Philippines. Badly damaged, two of the destroyers protecting the convoy took the Liberty in tow to the ship repair facilities at Singaraja on the north coast of Bali, but the damaged ship was taking on so much water that it had to be beached in Tulamben Bay to prevent it from sinking.
There were no casualties in the actual torpedoing and all the crew were safely evacuated after the Liberty was ran aground, but the imminent arrival of the Japanese forces in Bali prevented any of it’s cargo being salvaged.
The Liberty remained beached for another 21 years, providing a source of various hardware to the local villagers and a fishing platform into the deeper waters of Tulamben Bay until the 17th March 1963, when the rumbling volcano Mount Agung which towers 3000m above Tulamben, exploded – pouring rivers of lava down it’s slopes. The resulting earthquakes lifted the rusting carcass of the Liberty and rolled it down the slope, breaking the back of the ship in the process, and leaving it on it’s side some 40m offshore & parallel to the shore with the bow facing north.
Liberty Wreck Dive Site Map
Diving Bali: Diving the Liberty Wreck at Tulamben
Although a shore dive, entry into the water at Tulamben is not without it’s difficulties – as even the most casual observer would note… The issue is the large volcanic pebbles that make up the beach at Tulamben and if you are not used to them, walking on the pebbles is not easy because they move slightly under your feet.
It’s not that big a deal on the beach itself, but when you have waded in and are trying to balance on one foot while putting your fin on the other – well you get the picture, especially when there are some waves added to the equation…
Soft corals & fish around the stern area
But once you are over that initial, somewhat embarrassing hurdle, actually diving the Liberty Wreck is quite straightforward. From the entry point on the beach the pebbles turn into a black sand slope at about 8m depth and you can normally see the outline of the stern at this point, which as you approach you realize that you are looking at the bottom of the ship – laying as it does on it’s starboard side, and if you look down you will see the rudder in the black sand pointing up towards the beach.
Swimming round the stern to the northern side the broken decking is rich in sponges & gorgonian fans which host an excellent variety of small creatures and making it an excellent place to end your dive, but for now descend down to the bottom at about 20m and check out the remains of the stern gun and the nearby barrel sponge which are host to an array of marine life.
Heading northwest down the wreck you will pass the large boilers inside the hull, then you will pass the hold, which is open and a great place to explore briefly before arriving at the the mid-section with it’s rich profusion of soft corals, marine growth & reef fish that have made their home there.
This is my favorite part of the wreck and I usually spend too much time in this area because it is just so photogenic.
Try and save some air to explore the bow area which also hosts a rich selection of soft corals & gorgonian fans plus it’s nicely encrusted gun is still in place after all these years.
A swim back up the wreck to the stern and a deco stop amongst the rich corals on the broken decking is the usual way to go, but if you are running short of air by the time you have got to the bow then Plan B is to swim up to the shallows and do your deco stop there.
Diving Bali: Liberty Wreck Underwater Image Gallery
Underwater pictures from the Liberty Wreck at Tumanben
Diving Bali: Underwater Image Gallery from inside the Liberty Wreck
Underwater pictures from inside the Liberty Wreck at Tumanben
Diving Bali: Underwater Photography & the Liberty Wreck
The Liberty wreck offers both superb wide-angle & excellent macro photo-opportunities and because it’s a shore dive, it’s relatively easy to go back to if you see something you need a different lens set-up to capture.
My personal recommendations for underwater photography on the Liberty are to go for wide-angle in the morning, when there is the best chance of good visibility, and get there early before everybody else has arrived. If you can also manage to do this on a rising tide you will have the best chance of optimum visibility.
Look Up on the Liberty Wreck...
Because you never know what you will see on the Liberty wreck, my wide-angle lens of choice on the Liberty would be the Tokina 10-17 fish-eye zoom if you are using a DX format camera, or the Nikon 16-35 on a FX camera.
This is especially true early in the morning before everybody arrives, where the flexibility of the Tokina comes in to it’s own.
The areas around the stern, the mid-section & the bow are particularly target rich environments for wide-angle but you should probably save the stern for last as it’s quite shallow at the top and a good place to do your deco stop.
There is so much to see on the wreck that its easy to get fixated with what is below you, but there are often fish-balls and large barracuda to be seen – so remember to look up….
For macro I almost always use my 70-180 Nikon macro zoom and carry an external wet dioptre in case I find anything really small – there are several fans with pygmy seahorses…
Again the areas around the stern, mid-section & bow are all good for macro but the guides know where to find the critters, so explain in advance what you are looking for. For general wandering round the wreck I would use the Sigma 17-70 on a DX camera or the Nikinon 24-85 on a FX camera.
Finally, it has to be said that underwater photographers have a bad reputation on the wreck for damaging the marine growth in pursuit of that perfect image…. so please bear that in mind if you do get to dive the Liberty and take great care.
Diving Bali: When to Dive the Liberty Wreck at Tulamben
The best time of year to dive the Liberty wreck is October & November after the southeast (dry season) monsoon has ended, but before the northwest one (wet season) has begun and when you will get the calmest conditions
The period at the the start of the southeast monsoon in May, June & through to about mid July also offer good conditions, but after that for about 2 to 2.5 months high winds create rough seas and poor conditions. Around the end of September the conditions start to improve again.
Generally December through to early April when the northwest monsoon is at it’s peak are not good conditions due to strong winds & rough seas.
The best time of day is early in the morning, but these days the divers who stay up at Tulamben mean that it’s tough to get the wreck to yourself… but if you can get the timing right so that you have a rising tide, or even high tide around 07.30 there is an excellent chance you will get both good visibility and most of the wreck to yourself!
Readers Comments