Advertisement
Indonesia
This Week in AsiaPolitics

As Indonesia races to find missing submarine, vessel’s age comes under scrutiny

  • The 44-year-old submarine fell out of contact early on Wednesday during a training exercise in the waters off Bali
  • Analysts said the incident highlights the risks of Indonesia’s ageing military equipment and the chronic underfunding of the navy and air force

Reading Time:6 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
3
Time is running out for the crew on board Indonesia’s KRI Nanggala 402 submarine. Photo: AFP
Amy Chewin Kuala Lumpur
As Indonesia races to locate a missing submarine that is expected to run out of oxygen on Saturday, experts have expressed concern over the fate of the crew and highlighted the risks of the country’s ageing military equipment.
The KRI Nanggala 402 was taking part in a training exercise involving the shooting and launching of torpedoes on Wednesday when it lost contact about 95km (59 miles) north of Bali with 53 people on board.

Indonesian navy chief Yudo Margono on Thursday said the oxygen would last until about 3am on Saturday, under the current situation of a power “blackout”.

“The oxygen capacity is 72 hours. Hopefully it can be found before that when there is still reserve oxygen,” said Margono said in Bali at a press conference also attended by Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and Armed Forces commander Hadi Tjahjanto.

Margono added that the diesel-powered submarine had received a letter of feasibility from the navy and was battle-ready.

A security source, who did not want to be named, told This Week in Asia the submarine usually had a crew capacity of 34 but “additional men were placed on board” during the exercise.

Frank Owen, secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, said submarines generally had enough emergency oxygen supplies to cope without external support for seven days.

Advertisement