TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The assistant for planning and budgeting to the Navy chief of staff, Rear Adm. Muhammad Ali, said a naval submarine could be operated well as long as it is properly maintained regardless of the age, including KRI Nanggala-402 which was declared sunken in the north waters of Bali after it was lost contact on early Wednesday, April 21.

“The average age of a submarine is relative, depending on its maintenance. If it is well maintained, it can be more than thirty or forty years,” said Ali in a press conference on Tuesday, April 27.

KRI Nanggala-402 was built in 1977 in Germany and joined the Indonesian Navy’s fleet in 1981. This means it was over 40 years old. However, Ali said the type 209 submarine was not only operated in Indonesia.

“India and almost all Latin American countries use the type 209 submarine, and some of them are still active. The type 209 submarine in Brazil is even two years older than Indonesia’s,” said Ali.

The submarine also underwent a complete overhaul in 2011 that was completed in 2012, as well as maintenance and repair every two years. “The last docking was in 2020. It was declared still feasible until September 2022,” Ali remarked.

KRI Nanggala-402 lost contact on Wednesday, April 21, in the north waters of Bali as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill. The authority declared it sunk three days later and the next day confirmed that the 53 crew members died. It was found drowned 850 meters below sea level and broken into three parts.

Read: Indonesian Navy to Evacuate Sunken KRI Nanggala-402 Submarine

EGI ADYATAMA