Items from lost submarine indicate sinking of Indonesian vessel

The Indonesian Navy patrol boat KRI Singa (651) loading provisions at the naval base in Banyuwangi in the midst of search operations. Pic/AFP

Indonesia's navy on Saturday said items were found from a missing submarine, indicating the vessel with 53 crew members had sank and there was no hope of finding survivors.

Navy Chief Yudo Margono said rescuers found several items from the KRI Nanggala 402, which disappeared after its last reported dive on Wednesday off the resort island of Bali, including parts of a torpedo straightener, a grease bottle believed to be used to oil the periscope and prayer rugs.

"With the authentic evidence we found believed to be from the submarine, we have now moved from the ‘sub miss' phase to ‘sub sunk'," Margono said at a press conference in Bali, where the found items were displayed. Officials previously said the submarine's oxygen supply would have run out. Indonesia had considered the submarine as just missing.

An American reconnaissance plane, a P-8 Poseidon, landed early on Saturday and was set to join the search, along with 20 Indonesian ships, a sonar-equipped Australian warship and four Indonesian aircraft. The search focused on an area near the starting position of its last dive where an oil slick was found, but there was no conclusive evidence so far the oil slick was from the sub.

Margono, the navy chief, had said oil could have spilled from a crack in the submarine's fuel tank or the crew could have released fuel and fluids to reduce the vessel's weight so it could surface.

1981
The year since the vessel had been in service

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