This US American military cargo ship was equipped with guns for WWII and was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off Lombok on the 11th of January, 1942. Two US destroyers hitched up to the ship and tried to tow it to the port of Singaraja but it was decided to run the vessel up onto the beach of Tulamben 70km away from the nearest safe harbor. Over the years anything reusable was removed by locals but the ship's hull and many of the interior structure remained intact. In 1963 the nearby volcano Gunung Agung erupted and the lava flow pushed the ship into its current position just a couple of feet below water. During this process the hull broke into two pieces. Now she is laying only 30 meters from the Tulamben beach on a sandy slope 90° on her side parallel to the shore. It is not only one of the very few WWII wrecks easily accessible in shallow, warm water but also the only one that still looks like a ship. By now, all other wrecks of this era are completely overgrown and look almost like natural coral reefs. Not so the "Liberty". Since she was resting at the beach until 1963, coral growth is only half of what it is at other WW II wrecks.
It is the only wreck I ever visited. It was in 1996, long before geocaching. So, the coordinates are from a local map and may need a little bit of adjustment. I am also not a under water photographer, so I hope it is ok to use some pictures other people took.
here are two websites with more information:
(
visit link)
(
visit link)