USAT Liberty was a United States Army transport ship torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-166 in January 1942 and beached on the island of Bali. She had been built during World War I and had served in the United States Navy during that conflict as animal transport USS Liberty. In 1963 a volcanic eruption moved the ship off the beach, and Liberty's wreck is now a popular dive site.



World War I

Liberty was launched on 19 June 1918 in Kearny, New Jersey, and acquired by the United States Navy on 7 October 1918. Liberty departed the New York Navy Yard on 24 October 1918, arriving at Brest, France, with her cargo of horses on 8 November. Over the next 6 months, Liberty made two additional cruises from New York to France discharging both animal and general cargo at French ports. Loaded with 436 tons of U.S. Army cargo and 2,072 tons of steel rails, Liberty arrived at Newport News, Virginia, on 30 April 1919 from her final cruise. She was decommissioned there on 7 May and was returned to the United States Shipping Board the same day.



World War II

Liberty was one of ten ships taken up by the United States Army for defense service.

At the time of the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, USAT Liberty was in the Pacific. In January 1942, she was en route from Australia to the Philippines with a cargo of railway parts and rubber. On 11 January, Liberty was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-166 about 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of the Lombok Strait. U.S. destroyer Paul Jones and Dutch destroyer Van Ghent took the damaged ship in tow attempting to reach the north coast of Bali. However she was taking too much water and so was beached on the eastern shore of Bali at Tulamben so that the cargo and fittings could be salvaged.

In 1963 the tremors associated with the eruption of Mount Agung caused the vessel to slip off the beach, and she now lies on a sand slope in 30 to 100 feet (9.1 to 30 m) of water, providing one of the most popular dives off Bali.

U.S.A.T LIBERTY SHIPWRECK