In waters north of Bali, a frantic search is underway for the Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala missing with 53 crew since the boat failed to make a routine signal report on Wednesday morning.
Hunting a submarine
There are two key challenges when a submarine goes missing. The first is finding it. A submarine is inherently covert. When the Nanggala dived as part of a routine exercise, it is unlikely the boat was being tracked. Even in a close-range exercise, it can be very difficult to maintain sonar contact with a submarine.
While Nanggala may have had a known planned track, the only certainty is where the submarine was when it last reported on Wednesday. Typically, the first indication of a missing submarine, unless there has been an obvious collision with a surface vessel, is the absence of the routine “all is well” report.
Navies have pre-planned procedures for instituting checks and initiating searches if a submarine fails to call in. These are immediately activated…