Intel

Indonesian Submarine Goes Missing, Rescuers Scramble

April 22, 2021Coffee or Die
RI Nanggala-402, the Indonesian submarine that has gone missing Photo courtesy Indonesian Navy.

RI Nanggala-402, the Indonesian submarine that has gone missing Photo courtesy Indonesian Navy.

This article was originally published April 21, 2021, on Sandboxx News. Follow Sandboxx News on Instagram


An Indonesian attack submarine has gone missing during an exercise in the Bali Sea.


The KRI Nanggala-402 with 53 souls on board failed to report back during a pre-planned communications window, and the Indonesian armed forces have since been unsuccessful in making contact with the submarine.


According to Indonesian First Admiral Julius Widjojono, the vessel went missing at 0300 on Wednesday approximately 60 miles off the coast of the province of Bali. Contact was lost when the submarine was sailing in deep water, something that will complicate rescue attempts. The KRI Nanggala was conducting torpedo drills.


The Indonesian armed forces have asked their Australian and Singaporean partners for assistance. The Singaporean Navy has deployed the MV Shift Rescue, a submarine support and rescue vessel that specializes in deep-sea rescue and recovery operations.


The missing Indonesian submarine brings haunting memories of the ARA San Juan. The Argentinian submarine had gone missing with all hands during a routine passage in 2017. Feverish attempts by an international task force, which included U.S. vessels and aircraft, to locate the submarine failed. One year later, ARA San Juan was discovered at the bottom of the sea; all 44 sailors had perished.


The Indonesian Navy operates five submarines. Built and commissioned in the late 1970s in Germany, the KRI Nanggala-402 has been in service with the Indonesian Navy for over 40 years. In 2012, it had gone through a two-year refit in South Korea. KRI Nanggala-402 is a Type 209 diesel-electric submarine.



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Coffee or Die is Black Rifle Coffee Company’s online lifestyle magazine. Launched in June 2018, the magazine covers a variety of topics that generally focus on the people, places, or things that are interesting, entertaining, or informative to America’s coffee drinkers — often going to dangerous or austere locations to report those stories.

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