KRI Nanggala-402 Crew Declared Fall, What's Next?

JAKARTA - The TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto confirmed that all the crew members of KRI Nanggala-402 died. This status was confirmed after the underwater imagery of KRI Rigel and the ROV of the MV Swift Rescue ship from Singapore found authentic evidence.

Hadi said that as a further step in the search for the KRI Nanggala-402 ship body, the government will coordinate with the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO).

"Furthermore, the Indonesian government will coordinate with ISMERLO to seek the next step. This is necessary because to evacuate KRI Nanggala-402 of course international cooperation is needed," he said in a virtual press conference, Sunday, April 25.

For your information, ISMERLO is indeed an agency that facilitates the international response to submarines in need of assistance (DISSUB). The focus of this military organization is to save lives at sea. KRI Nanggala-402 itself was carrying 53 crew when contact lost last Wednesday.

Since then, ISMERLO has been active in providing professional coordination support from the international submarine community to the Indonesian Navy. ISMERLO was founded by NATO and the Submarine Rescue Working Group (SMERWG) in 2003, after the tragedy of the Russian submarine, Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea and killed 118 of its crew.

Headquartered in Northwood, England, the organization consists of a team of submarine rescue and rescue experts from various countries. According to the ISMERLO website, at least 15 countries and a NATO team are ready to deploy assistance when there is an emergency call.

The fifteen countries are Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, England, Brazil, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the United States (US).

It was from this ISMERLO communication line that India and Singapore got information about the KRI Nanggala-402 and decided to send a rescue ship. Apart from India, Singapore and Malaysia have also deployed ships to assist the rescue operation of the KRI Nanggala-402.

Meanwhile, Australia, South Korea and the United States have also stated that they are ready to deploy personnel to assist in the search for the KRI Nanggala-402.

* Read other information about KRI NANGGALA-402 or read other interesting articles from Mery Handayani.