Indonesian submarine goes missing with 53 people on board; Navy seeks India's help

Indonesian Navy on Wednesday launched a massive search operation for its KRI Nanggala-402 submarine that went missing north of Bali with 53 personnel on board in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the defense officials said in a statement. Navy’s (TNI AL) Type-209 /1300 class Submarine missed a radio check-in at about 03:00 local time on 21 April during the live-fire torpedo military exercise. The Indonesian naval command sent out a distress call to the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO) at about 09:37 about the sub’s disappearance at 26.5 nautical miles northwest off Singaraja port. TNI-AL sources told the local press. 

Indonesia’s TNI-AL dispatched several warships, including the hydrographic ship, KRI Rigel (933) to conduct a search operation for the German-built KRI Nanggala-402. It sent out an international distress signal answered by India, Australia, and Singapore, with whom Jakarta sought help, and signed a submarine rescue agreement, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. 

[Credit: Facebook/Pusat Penerangan TNI]

Indonesia’s military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said that the KRI Nanggala 402 was participating in a training exercise in the Bali Strait, a stretch separating islands of Java and Bali that connects to the Indian Ocean and the Bali Sea. It sought permission to dive. The vessel had the capability to float about 2,300 feet deep into the water. The military lost contact with the 42-year-old submarine shortly after it plunged into the sea. The sub belonged to the Indonesian Navy’s 2nd Fleet, and it floated out of sight at about 60 miles north of Bali Island after the dive permit was given clearance, triggering suspicions among the surface crew. It did not resurface until around 6 am local time for a naval flotilla exercise planned for later.

"After permission was given according to the procedure, the submarine lost contact and could not be reached," Indonesia’s defense ministry said in an official statement. 

During aerial surveillance by the Indonesian air force jets at the dive spot, a thick oil spill was seen, which the Indonesian armed forces believed, may have caused the damage to the submarine's fuel tank. At least two naval vessels were dispatched immediately to use sonar search and scan the regional waters, Indonesia’s defense ministry said.

"It is possible that during static diving, a blackout occurred so control was lost," the Indonesian navy said in a statement. It continued, that the sub that was commissioned in 1980s “could have descended to a depth of 600-700 meters [2,000-2,300 feet].”

[The Indonesian navy submarine KRI Nanggala-402. Credit: AP]

Rehearsing for a 'missile-firing'

An Indonesian Air Force rescue helicopter was seen scrounging the territorial waters where the 1,400-ton KRI Nanggala 402 submarine was believed to have submerged with 53 crew on board. The Associated Press reported, that the Indonesian navy’s submarine was rehearsing for a missile-firing exercise when it disappeared. Indonesian Navy spokesman Colonel Julius Widjojono told local agency Kompas that the sub had the capability to dive 500 meters below sea level, but there were now fears that it has plunged about 200 meters below that depth, and that was risky and dangerous. “Let's pray for them so they can survive," Widjojono said. The warships are desperately searching for the vessel with side-scan sonar and have been mapping the vast seafloor in rescue efforts of the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) manufactured vessel. 

[Members of National Search and Rescue Agency prepare for a search mission for The Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala. Credit: AP]

[Credit: AP]