Sunken Submarine; Singapore's Ng Eng Hen Grieves for 'Brave Men and Patriots'

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Defense Minister of Singapore Ng Eng Hen on Sunday went on social media to express his condolences after the joint international search operation led by the Indonesian navy for the missing KRI Nanggala 402 finally confirmed that the naval submarine had sunk 838 meters below the ocean north of Bali strait. 

“I called Indonesia's Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto to offer the Ministry of Defence, Singapore (MINDEF) and the SAF's deepest condolences to the families of the crew of KRI Nanggala,” the Defense Minister wrote on Facebook, Sunday, April 25. 

The search mission produced visual confirmation that conclusively confirmed that the KRI Nanggala had broken into three main wreckage on the seafloor. 

The wreckage was initially detected by the multibeam echo sounder from the Indonesian naval ship KRI Rigel at the depth of over 800 meters on the ocean bed. The ship’s ROV was initially planned to make visual confirmation but was restricted by the depth that the ROV is able to reach.

To go past this depth barrier, Singapore’s MV Swift Rescue dispatched its deep sea ROV and was able to provide visual confirmation and also retrieve items and parts of the wreckage at a depth of about 838 meters.

“We grieve together with the TNI and the affected families for the loss of these brave men and patriots of the Golden Shark unit on board KRI Nanggala. May they rest in peace, having served their country with the utmost dedication and ultimate sacrifice,” Ng Eng Hen added. 

The KRI Nanggala 402 initially lost contact with the Navy headquarters on Wednesday as the submarine was about to initiate a torpedo drill.

Read: Singapore Sends Condolences on Discovery of Sunken Indonesian

RICKY MN | EGI ADYATAMA