USS Lamson (DD-367)
Mahan-class destroyer sunk in Test Able on 1 July 1946; she sits upright on the lagoon floor at about 51 m with the main deck at about 48–49 m. Deck guns, torpedo tubes and some torpedoes are visible, with soft and table corals growing on the wreck. Residual radiation on the wrecks is described by the operator as negligible; the real risks are depth, decompression and the lack of a recompression chamber nearby. Do not eat locally grown food on Bikini (soil caesium).
Facts
- Region: Marshall Islands – Bikini, Kwajalein & Majuro
- Area: Bikini Atoll
- Depth: 36–51 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 11.6, 165.51 (approximate)
- Highlights: destroyer, wreck, deck guns, torpedoes, torpedo tubes, table coral
- Permit: Bikini is closed to casual visitors: access needs prior approval of the Kili/Bikini/Ejit (KBE) Local Government (Bikini Council), and visitors pay marine, park and port fees that go to the Council and are collected by the liveaboard operator (Master Liveaboards: US$550 per person in 2026–28 listings, non-refundable). In practice the permit is arranged by the expedition operator; there is no regular land-based dive operator. Removing artefacts from the wrecks is forbidden.
- Issuer / contact: Kili/Bikini/Ejit (KBE) Local Government (Bikini Council)
- No official phone, email or website found; the KBE constitution places its principal office at the Town Hall on Majuro. Permits are in practice arranged through the expedition operator (e.g. Master Liveaboards, dive@masterliveaboards.com).
- Unverified: No published GPS found for this wreck; the pin is placed inside Bikini Lagoon near the Crossroads anchorage and is only indicative – the operator knows the exact position.
- Tips: Technical dive only (TDI Advanced Nitrox & Deco Procedures / PADI Tec 45 or equivalent, 100+ logged dives); penetration needs overhead-environment training. Take no souvenirs.