Fears missing Indonesian Navy submarine with 53 sailors on board sank on military exercise

An Indonesian Navy submarine with 53 people on board has gone missing amid fears it sank during a torpedo drill off the waters of Bali.

The navy has deployed a number of warships to search for the missing crew and officials fear the vessel sank to the bottom of a trough with a depth of 2,300ft, reports Kompas. 

Indonesian rescuers searching for the submarine found an oil spill today near the vessel’s dive location, authorities said. 

The German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, was conducting a torpedo drill in waters 60 miles north of the island of Bali on Wednesday, but failed to relay the results as expected, a navy spokesman said.

An aerial search found an oil spill near the submarine’s dive location and two navy vessels with sonar capability have been deployed to assist the hunt, Indonesia’s Defence Ministry said.  

The German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402 (file photo of the submarine), has gone missing with 53 people on board

The navy requested help from other nations with submarine rescue vessels and Australia, Singapore and India have responded, the ministry said in a statement. 

TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said contact with the submarine was lost at around 4.30am local time on Wednesday morning.  

‘We are still searching in the waters of Bali, 60 miles from Bali, (for) 53 people,’ military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters in a text message. 

He added: ‘Tomorrow I will immediately go to the location.’  

The submarine was conducting a torpedo drill in waters 60 miles north of the island of Bali

The military chief confirmed that assistance in the search for the submarine and missing crew members had been sought from Australia and Singapore. 

Representatives of the defence departments of the two countries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

‘The navy is currently searching for [the submarine], said First Admiral Julius Widjojono. ‘We know the area but it’s quite deep.’   

Commander Marshal Tjahjanto will hold a media briefing to share further information about the search on Thursday from Bali, a spokesman said.

Military analyst Soleman Ponto said it is too early to determine the fate of the submarine conclusively.

‘We don’t know yet whether the communication equipments were broken or the submarine has sunken. We have to wait for at least three days,’ he said. 

The military chief confirmed that assistance in the search for the submarine (file photo of the vessel) and missing crew members had been sought from Australia and Singapore

The 1,395-tonne KRI Nanggala-402 was built in Germany in 1977, according to the defense ministry, and joined Indonesian fleet in 1981. It underwent a two-year refit in South Korea that was completed in 2012.

Indonesia in the past operated a fleet of 12 submarines purchased from the Soviet Union to patrol the waters of its sprawling archipelago.

But now it has a fleet of only five including two German-built Type 209 submarines and three newer South Korean vessels.

Indonesia has been seeking to modernise its defence capabilities but some of its equipment still in service is old and there have been deadly accidents in recent years.

In 2016, an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed into a mountain, killing all 13 people board, during a training exercise in the remote region of Papua.

In 2015, an Indonesian military transport plane crashed into a northern residential area two minutes after takeoff, killing more than 100 people.