For technical divers, the name Bikini Atoll represents the ultimate pilgrimage. This remote Pacific archipelago in the Marshall Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage site, holds a fleet of historic warships resting exactly where they were sunk during post-war nuclear tests. To dive here is to explore a submerged museum of 20th-century history, a task that demands a liveaboard vessel as capable and purpose-built as the destination itself. The Pacific Master is that vessel, offering a rare combination of rugged capability and genuine diver-focused comfort for this extraordinary expedition.
Originally constructed with a 30-meter steel hull to handle demanding operations on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the Pacific Master provides a reassuringly stable platform for the long crossings to Bikini. More importantly, it offers an exceptional sense of personal space. With accommodation for a maximum of 20 guests, the interior feels generously proportioned. Whether you choose an en-suite upper deck stateroom or a practical lower deck cabin with shared facilities, the layout creates a relaxed, communal atmosphere that suits an adventure-focused group of like-minded wreck enthusiasts.
Between dives in the Marshall Islands, the vessel is arranged for both shared experiences and quiet downtime. The air-conditioned main lounge is where dive briefings for the next giant wreck are held, and where divers gather later to review photos or read up on the history of the Bikini Atoll dive sites. Above, the sun deck with its loungers is a quiet spot to feel the tropical breeze. For those serious about imaging, a dedicated camera room with individual workstations acknowledges that documenting these wrecks is a central part of the liveaboard expedition.
The dive deck is where the Pacific Master liveaboard truly proves its design pedigree. It is a supremely functional space, engineered for the exacting dive operations that Bikini Atoll requires. Multiple freshwater showers and large rinse tanks are strategically placed to eliminate any post-dive waiting, keeping the focus on gearing up for the next immersion. Diving is done directly from the vessel via sturdy ladders, with 2 tenders on standby to provide flexibility, safety, and the occasional surface support for photographers.
Operating liveaboard diving in Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, requires experience and a meticulous approach to logistics. The crew of the Pacific Master, from the dive team to the chefs, are known for their professionalism in this challenging environment. They understand that a successful trip here hinges on reliable operations, from managing technical diving gas blends to ensuring comfort after a day of decompression stops. It is this seamless (in practice, not just in name) combination of a robust liveaboard vessel, expert crew, and a singular destination that makes this liveaboard the choice for technical divers only to experience the wrecks of Bikini Atoll.
Note: as a technical diving liveaboard boat, the Pacific Master is set up with a deco bar with a 80/40 cu.ft. deco stage, manifold twin tanks, oxygen and helium. Due to the logistical problems, trimix is only available to rebreather divers. A booster pump is available for closed-circuit rebreathers, and sofno-lime scrubber can be ordered in advance. The oxygen generator can deliver 93% pure oxygen (+/-3%).
There are 12 cabins onboard, but only 18 guests are allowed per Bikini Atoll liveaboard cruise. On the upper deck there is 1 Premium double bed cabin, 4 Classic cabins with a lower double bunk bed and upper single bed, and 1 Classic twin bunk bed cabin, and all with private bathrooms. The lower deck features 4 Standard single occupancy twin bunk bed cabins, and 2 Standard twin share cabins with 2 sets of bunk beds, that share 5 bathroom facilities on the main deck.
All the cabins have:
- Air conditioning
- Private bathroom with hot water shower and hand basin (Classic cabins only)
- Windows and portholes on upper deck
- Bath towels and shower gel
- Bedding
- Cabinet and shelves
- Fire warning system
- Fire extinguishers
- Life jackets
- Mains outlet 220V / 50 Hz (Australian style sockets) - 24 hours per day
- Luggage space
No. of bathrooms / showers - 11 / 11 - hot water
Bikini Atoll
Trip highlights: shark action, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving, wreck diving
Dive sites and activities: Bikini Atoll: USS Saratoga (aircraft carrier), Nagato (Japanese super-dreadnought battleship), USS Arkansas (dreadnought), USS Lamson (destroyer), USS Anderson (destroyer), USS Apogon (submarine), USS Carlisle (attack support boat); Kwajalein Atoll: Prinz Eugen (German heavy cruiser)
Day 1
A representative meets you at the dock on Ebeye Island in the Marshall Islands and transfers you by tender to the Pacific Master. After a welcome from the cruise director, you’ll be shown to your cabin and given a safety briefing, followed by an outline of the days ahead. There is time to settle in, complete paperwork, and meet fellow guests before dinner. The liveaboard then begins the overnight crossing to Bikini Atoll, 400 kilometres to the northwest.
Core Days
Bikini Atoll holds a collection of warships unlike any other. In 1946, the US Navy assembled a target fleet here for Operation Crossroads, subjecting the vessels to 2 atomic tests. The result is a submerged museum: battleships, an aircraft carrier, a submarine, and destroyers resting on the lagoon floor in clear, warm water. Visibility regularly exceeds 40 metres, and the reefs that have grown over the wrecks in the decades since are dense with soft coral and reef fish.
The Pacific Master liveaboard schedules 2 dives per day, recognising the extended bottom times and decompression obligations these depths require. The centrepiece of the lagoon is the USS Saratoga, a 270-metre aircraft carrier lying on its starboard side at around 50 metres. Its flight deck rises into shallower water, and the ship's superstructure is open to exploration for those with appropriate training. Nearby, the Japanese battleship Nagato - flagship of Admiral Yamamoto during the attack on Pearl Harbor - rests upright, her massive turrets and bridge recognisable despite the blast damage that sank her. The USS Arkansas, a dreadnought from an earlier era, was capsized by the second test and now lies inverted, her hull a haven for batfish and glassfish.
Smaller wrecks offer different dive perspectives. The destroyers USS Lamson and USS Anderson are broken but intact enough to trace their lines, while the submarine USS Apogon sits upright on the sand, her conning tower accessible. The USS Carlisle, an attack transport, lies in shallower water, her holds open and filled with silversides. On some dive cruises, the crossing to Bikini may allow a detour past Kwajalein Atoll, where the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, survivor of the Bismarck operation, rests capsized in the lagoon, her propellers and rudder still visible.
Midway through the liveaboard expedition, a day is set aside without diving. The crew takes guests ashore on Bikini Island for a beach barbecue and an opportunity to walk the island, where concrete bunkers and overgrown structures remain from the US military presence. It is a chance to absorb the history of the Marshall Islands above water before returning to the wrecks below.
Final Day
After a breakfast, you will disembark at Ebeye Island at be transported back to the ferry dock to return to the airport at Kwajalein.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].
A liveaboard trip to the Marshall Islands and Bikini Atoll is as much about the surface intervals as the dives themselves. The days are full, the diving demanding, and the setting remote. Onboard the Pacific Master, the daily rhythm is built around keeping you fuelled, rested, and ready for the next descent into history. The crew understands that after a morning exploring the ghostly wrecks of a nuclear fleet, you return not just with air to log, but with an appetite.
Meals are served buffet-style in the air-conditioned main deck saloon, a spacious and cool retreat from the tropical heat. The galley team prepares a mix of international dishes and local flavours, designed to satisfy divers who’ve worked up a genuine hunger. Mornings might start with eggs cooked to order, sausages, bacon, and hash browns, alongside banana pancakes or French toast.
Lunch could be a hearty shepherd’s pie, a vegetable stir-fry, or a rich pork peppercorn. Dinners often feature comfort food with a twist think beef curry, garlic prawns, or barbecue ribs, often preceded by a soup like pumpkin. Between meals, a spread of fresh fruit and snacks is always on hand.
The beverage policy is clear and practical. A range of fruit juices, soft drinks, and both instant and freshly brewed coffee, along with a selection of teas, are available throughout the day. For those who fancy something stronger, beer, wine, and spirits can be purchased from the onboard cocktail bar. There is a standard 'ships only' bar policy, meaning guests do not consume their own alcohol onboard.
The daily structure revolves around the diving. You can typically expect 2 tech-dives per day, exploring the wrecks. Time between dives is your own. You might find a quiet spot in the saloon to edit photos, charge batteries at the dedicated camera station, or simply stretch out on the sun deck's loungers.
What makes the routine work is the atmosphere the crew creates. Feedback from experienced guests on the Pacific Master liveaboard many of whom have dived with this operator for years consistently points to a team that anticipates needs. They are known for handling the logistical complexities of a Bikini Atoll expedition, from gas mixes for technical divers to sudden changes in weather, with a calm, professional approach that lets you focus on the diving.
MORE TRIP DETAILS
Dive experience: The Bikini Atoll wrecks are at an average depth of 50m and suitable for technical divers only. All divers must be a minimum of PADI Tec 50 or equivalent, with wreck experience. The following certifications are also recommended: TDI - Advanced Nitrox and Deco Procedures, IANTD - Tech Nitrox, NAUI - Tech Nitrox and Deco Techniques, ANDI - Technical Nitrox. Closed-circuit rebreather (CCR) divers need to be minimum normoxic trimix certified.
Due to the very remote location of the Marshall Islands, liveaboard divers are recommended to complete a 10 minute 3-6m safety stop every dive in addition to the standard decompression stops. There is a minimum 4 hour surface interval between all dives. Wreck penetration is not allowed without a dive guide.
Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, hot drinks, soft drinks, dives (as detailed in the trips above), 3 experienced dive team members, deco-bar, weights and weightbelts, sales tax.
Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment rental (see below, must be pre-booked), port and park fees (10-11 nights - USD 500, 13-14 nights - USD 600), appropriate diving and evacuation insurance. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash USD or credit card).
Scuba equipment - 2 methods of buoyancy (redundant bladder/dry suit/lift bag), multi-gas dive computer, back-up dive computer or depth/bottom timer, 2 SMBs (1 orange/red, 1 yellow) with slates, 2 reels/spools (15m and 60m of line), additional dive slate, 2 torches (for wreck penetration).
Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks, additional scuba equipment rental (see below, must be pre-booked). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.
Scuba equipment - backplate, harness and wing capable of carrying manifolded twin 80 cu.ft. aluminium cylinders and at least 1 40 cu.ft. aluminium stage tank, 2 DIN regulator sets (one with long-hose configuration), DIN stage regulator for use with up to 95% oxygen, 3-5 mm full length wetsuit (not available for rent), spare mask.
How to get there: The Pacific Master uses the dock at Ebeye Island for all its Marshall Islands liveaboard expeditions. All cruises are planned around the scheduled flights to Kwajalein Airport (KWA) from Honolulu (HNL) with United Airlines. It’s 7 hours from HNL to KWA.
Ebeye Island - since Kwajalein Airport is located inside a USA military base, there are some specific arrival and departure formalities. During the flight to the Marshall Islands you will be given a white customs form and a blue immigration form. Your address in the Marshall Islands will be 'M/Y Pacific Master Dive Vessel'. In the 'Visitors Only' section of the immigration form, select 'Other' and write: 'Liveaboard Diving Vessel'. Then you will land and await your luggage. You do not need to complete the paperwork for entry in to the military base. Instead, go to the Marshallese official in the holding area and give them the printed copy of the Master Liveaboards sponsor letter that you received during the booking process along with the 2 immigration and customs forms.
Once the transport to the ferry port is ready, you will be taken to a hangar to retrieve your checked baggage. A shuttle bus will then take passengers from the airport to the ferry terminal (5-10 minute journey) where a military ferry will take you across the short distance (20 minutes) to Ebeye and off from the military base. Once at Ebeye Island, a Pacific Master representative will meet you and transport you by motorised tender to the liveaboard boat.
Boarding times are scheduled around the flights from Honolulu. The boat returns on the penultimate day and disembarkation on the last day is timed around the same flights. All trips are planned to allow at least 18 hours before flying after diving.
Note: all visitors to the Marshall Islands must provide proof of vaccination against measles.
Diving Environment: Bikini Atoll is part of the Marshall Islands, a nation which covers a huge expanse of crystal-clear water in the Pacific Ocean. It is a “one of a kind” diving paradise. Not only does it feature vivid coral reefs and staggering marine life, but it is also possibly the number one wreck dive destination in the world. After the end of World War II, the USA assembled a fleet of decommissioned naval vessels at Bikini Atoll in order to carry out atomic bomb tests. ‘Castle Bravo’ was the biggest man made explosion in history - a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb that was 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima; it left a 2 km crater in the lagoon. These days Bikini Atoll is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has re-opened, allowing scuba divers to experience a unique collection of historic battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers and submarines. The USS Saratoga is said the be the highlight, with its massive 900 ft/270m flight deck.
There are also some excellent sites near Majuro, including steep walls of Kalalen Pass which is excellent for drift diving, pelagics and encounters with tiger sharks and silvertips, a freighter, a seaplane, and a large military dumpsite at Ejit Island with trucks, jeeps, tug boats, that is perfect for macro dives and underwater photography.
Air temperatures range between 80-84F/27-29°C, all year round, with some rainfall and cooling trade winds in the evenings. Water temperatures are constant at 80-84F/27-29°C too. A 3 or 5 mm full length wetsuit is recommended for wreck penetration and prolonged safety stops.
Non-diver rate: 10% discount on published prices.
Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): There are 4 dedicated standard cabins available on the lower deck for single travellers, although you can reserve an upper deck cabin instead if you prefer. For single travelers that prefer their own cabin on the upper deck, there is a supplement of 80% of the normal published price.
Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 8 guests and 1 extra person can join in the lowest priced cabin free of charge (total 9+ guests).
Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 16 guests and 2 extra people can join in the lowest priced cabin free of charge.
Click to view product. Special discounted trips highlighted in yellow
