Diving in Bali & The Liberty Wreck

The first time I dived in Bali was back in 1999, when I took advantage of a business meeting I was attending in Sanur to take a few days off and to go up to Tulamben on the north-east coast.

I had heard a lot about the Liberty wreck and wanted to see for myself what it was like.

Also it was possible to stay in Tulamben and avoid having to travel everyday as part of the "dive safaris" offered by many of the dive shops.

The safaris appeared to entail spending hours in a van to get to a site, have a couple of dives and then drive for another few hours to get back to your hotel or onwards to the next location.

Bali is a relatively small island - just 140km wide and 85km "tall", but the roads are narrow, winding and crowded with cars & the ubiquitous small motorbikes, so a journey of just 60km can easily take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the time of day.

I have subsequently done a few safaris and provided you are working with a good operator and plan carefully, they are actually a good way to see a number of different locations - but the devil is in the detail and make sure you really do a proper plan!

There are some other great sites in the Tulamben area (especially for critters) such as Seraya Secrets, but if you have the time check out the other locations such as Secret Bay Puri Jati on the north coast and the East Coast area.

I have come to like the diving in Bali so much that my wife & I recently bought a place in Ubud that will allow me to further explore the island and Indonesia in general in a couple of years time.

The Liberty Wreck

Tulamben lies in the shadow of the currently dormant Mount Agung volcano, that decimated the area and killed thousands when it last came to life and exploded in 1963. It is without doubt the most popular diving location in Bali and everyday from about ten in the morning, diving tourists arrive from all over the island to explore the wreck of the Liberty.

The wreck really is a great dive and it never ceases to amaze me how it appears to stay such a good site, despite the number of divers that frequent it.

The sheer number of divers that visit the location means that it can get pretty crowded, so the trick is to dive the wreck before nine in the morning on a rising tide - or better still at high water, so you get the best visibility and you are in the water before all the safaris arrive!

Contrary to what it’s name suggest, the USAT Liberty is not actually a Liberty class vessel - it was an armed cargo supply ship torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, in the early hours of January 11 in 1942, whilst crossing the Lombok Strait on route from Australia to the Philippines.

The torpedo attack critically damaged the ship and it probably would have sunk in the deep waters of the Strait but for the presence of two allied destroyers which tried to tow it to the port of Singaraja on the north coast of Bali.

The salvage attempt only got the Liberty as far as Tulamben when the crew were forced to run the ship up the beach to prevent it from sinking and save it’s cargo of raw rubber & railroad parts.

The ship sat on the beach gradually being dismantled by the locals until 1963 when Mount Agung exploded, the force from which pushed it down the steep black sand slope, splitting the hull into two in the process and the wreck now lies parallel to the shore with the bow facing north.

Around the hold and the engine area at about 25m depth there is some luxuriant coral growth that I always spend time exploring.

On the way back to the bow there is an interesting area for wide-angle photography, where I always try and linger if I have a willing model...

One dive guide told me that I should always look up on the Liberty wreck and sure enough the next day as I was doing my safety stop near the bow I got this image.

The Liberty wreck really is a great dive and I thoroughly recommend it - but get there before the crowds!

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