American Wreck (USS Salute)
USS Salute (AM-294), a US Navy minesweeper, hit a mine on 8 June 1945 while sweeping ahead of the Brunei Bay landings; six sailors died and three were listed missing (nine lost; a plaque lists names). WWII war grave. The ship broke in two with one section across the other, in about 30 m, with cannons, ammunition clips and other munitions around; the Malaysian navy reportedly removed the unexploded depth charges. The wreck lies about 1.5 km from the Australian Wreck, southeast of Rusukan Kecil. Position is the approximate sinking position from Wikipedia, not a surveyed dive-site GPS.
Facts
- Region: Labuan wrecks – Malaysia
- Area: Labuan wrecks (southwest of Labuan)
- Depth: 18–33 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 5.1333, 115.0833 (approximate)
- Highlights: barracuda, trevally, grouper, batfish, bumphead, napoleon wrasse
- Permit: The four wrecks lie in zones gazetted as heritage protection areas by the National Heritage Department (reported as protected since 2011); operators obtained special approval to run dives, so dive only with a licensed Labuan operator. Labuan Marine Park fee for non-Malaysians reportedly RM 30 per person (usually quoted separately by operators; confirm when booking). Removing artefacts is not allowed.
- Issuer / contact: Jabatan Warisan Negara (National Heritage Department) / Labuan Marine Park (Department of Fisheries) – no official contact found by this research
- Tips: Challenging: depth about 30 m, occasionally strong current and limited bottom time. Advanced Open Water minimum; munitions lie on and near the wreck, do not touch anything. War grave: look, do not remove.