Gili Islands · Indonesia · Wreck · Drift
Bounty Wreck
Old bicycles under coral on a pontoon that sank in 2003
Photo: 1882mallarduck · CC BY-SA 4.0
Not a ship: the Bounty Wreck is a pier that sank around 2003 south-west of Gili Meno and now lies with its shallowest section at 9 m and the bottom at 18 m. Coral has taken the structure over, and it holds scorpionfish, frogfish, damselfish and peacock mantis shrimp, with a bommie alongside full of glass fish. Old bicycles lie on the southern side with coral growing over them.
Also known as Bounty.
Where it is and how deep
8.3564° S, 116.0513° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The structure sits between 9 m and 18 m, so the whole of it fits inside one no-decompression dive with time to spare. Start deep on the bottom at 18 m and work around the outside of the pontoon, then step up onto the shallower sections as the dive goes on. Because it is a pier rather than a hull there is no interior to speak of: the diving is all around and over the frame, which is what makes it a straightforward first wreck.
Coral has grown across the structure and that growth is what draws the fauna. Check the southern side for the old bicycles with coral growing over them, then work slowly along the frame for scorpionfish, frogfish and peacock mantis shrimp, all of which sit still and take finding. A large bommie beside the wreck is home to thousands of glass fish, with damselfish over the coral. The site is listed as a drift as well as a wreck, so take a direction from the briefing.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Bounty
- Type
- Pier pontoon
- Sunk
- 2003
- Cause
- Not recorded — published sources say only that the pier sank around 2003
- Lies
- South-west of Gili Meno, shallowest section at 9 m and the bottom at 18 m
The structure is a pier that went down around 2003. Published sources do not say why, and none records its original operator or use beyond 'pier' or 'pontoon'. What is documented is what happened afterwards: coral has colonised the frame heavily enough that the French Wikipedia entry on the Gilis describes it as drawing plenty of marine life, and the old bicycles left on the southern side are growing coral of their own. That entry and PADI's published position for the site agree in placing it south-west of Gili Meno.
Marine life and season
- Frogfish
- Macro critters
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Gili Islands: Divable year-round; Apr–Nov brings the calmest crossings, and mola mola occasionally appear Aug–Oct on the deeper sites.
Photos from Bounty Wreck
1882mallarduck · CC BY-SA 4.0
1882mallarduck · CC BY-SA 4.0
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Bounty Wreck?+
The shallowest part of the structure is at 9 m and the bottom sits at 18 m, so the whole wreck stays inside recreational limits and can be covered in a single dive.
What ship is the Bounty Wreck?+
It is not a ship. The site is a pier, or pontoon, that sank around 2003 and has since been colonised by coral; no published source records why it went down.
Sources
- Bounty Wreck dive site — PADI
- Îles Gili — Wikipedia (French)
Photo credits
- Divers hover in blue water above the coral-covered Bounty Wreck. by 1882mallarduck, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A coral-encrusted mound rising from the sandy seabed with fish overhead. by 1882mallarduck, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Coral colonies scattered over sand with a small school of fish above. by 1882mallarduck, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Gili Islands
Wall
A vertical face dropping from 5 m to 30 m off Gili Air
Pinnacle
Sea mounds rising from sand at 30 m to about 18 m
Juvenile whitetips tucked into small caves along a drifting slope
Sand slope
Broken rubble ground from 5 m to 16 m, then open sand
Sand slope
Macro life on bommies scattered down a sand slope
Turtles in numbers along a wall that bottoms out at 22 m
Reef
Whitetip sharks and turtles on three coral levels at 18-24 m
Reef
Deep reef meeting sand at 30 m off the northern Gilis
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