USS Saratoga (CV-3)

US Navy aircraft carrier (about 277 m), a target ship in Operation Crossroads; she survived Test Able on 1 July 1946 but was sunk by the underwater Baker test on 25 July 1946 and sits upright in Bikini Lagoon. The top of the superstructure is at about 18 m, the flight deck at about 27 m and the lagoon floor at about 51 m. Guns, aircraft remains and interior passages can be seen; only a part of the wreck has been explored. 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: 18–51 m
Level: advanced
Current: low
Type: wreck
Coordinates: 11.5814, 165.4986
Highlights: aircraft carrier, wreck, grey reef sharks, technical diving, aircraft, guns
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).
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.

USS Saratoga (CV-3)

Facts

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