Sunken Naval Submarine; TNI to Request ISMERLO Assistance

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Headquarters announced on Sunday that it will lodge a request for assistance to the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO) to evacuate the fuselage of the missing submarine, KRI Nanggala 402, which was finally discovered laying at the depth of 838 meters in the waters of Bali.

“This is needed to evacuate the KRI Nanggala 402 which international partnership is surely needed,” said TNI Commander Hadi Tjahjanto in Sunday’s press conference April 25. 

Naval chief of staff Admiral Yudo Margono has also expressed his commitment to recover the Nanggala despite the risks of the ruins located in a significant depth at the bottom of the ocean. 

Yudo claims offers for help have been expressed by ISMERLO country members but it must officially be requested by the government that is approved by state officials.

“I will file this request to the TNI Commander and [the request] will surely go to the upper levels and for sure there are already decisions to recover the submarine,” said Yudo.

The former missing submarine KRI Nanggala 402 was discovered during the rescue mission when visual contact was made by an ROV operated by Singapore’s MV Swift Rescue on Sunday morning (09:00 WITA). The main submarine fuselage was found broken into three main sections roughly 1,500 yards south of the initial point when the submarine was last known.

Read: Jokowi Vows to Continue Search Efforts for Missing KRI Nanggala-402 Crew

EGI ADYATAMA