INDIA. Mumbai: The Indian Navy has dispatched its deep submergence rescue vessel to support the Indonesian Navy’s hunt for its Submarine KRI Nanggala –a German-built submarine, which went missing with 53 people on board, on Wednesday during a military exercise around the Bali Straits.
The submarine was reportedly exercising in a location 25 miles North of Bali with a crew of 53 personnel. Submarine rescue is required to be undertaken when a submarine is reported to be missing or sunk and specialized equipment is required for an underwater search to locate the disabled submarine and rescue the personnel who are trapped inside the submarine.
“On April 21, an alert was received by Indian Navy through International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), regarding the missing Indonesian submarine,” an Indian navy statement said. A deep submergence rescue vessel (DSRV) departed from Visakhapatnam on Thursday to support the Indonesian Navy(Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Laut ) in its operation to locate the diesel-electric attack submarine.
“India is amongst the few countries in the world capable of undertaking Search and Rescue of a disabled submarine through a DSRV. Indian Navy’s DSRV system can locate a submarine up to 1000 m depth utilizing its state-of-the-art Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). After the submarine is successfully located, another sub-module of DSRV- the Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV) – mates with the submarine to rescue the trapped personnel. The SRV can also be used to provide emergency supplies to the submarine. The Indian DSRV is fitted with the latest technology and that has a side-scan sonar for locating the position of submarines in distress at sea, the Navy statement said.
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In its statement, the Indian Navy said: “Under the framework of comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Indonesia, Indian Navy and Indonesian Navy share a strong partnership of operational cooperation. The two navies have been exercising regularly in the past and have developed synergy and interoperability which is considered important for the present mission”.
At least six warships, a helicopter, and 400 people have since been involved in the search. Besides India, Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States have sent specialized ships or aircraft in response to Indonesian requests for assistance.
