What Happened to the Indonesian Submarine KRI Nanggala?
After a five-day search, wreckage from Indonesia’s missing submarine KRI Nanggala has been discovered at a depth of more than 800 meters in the Bali Sea.With no survivors from the 53-person crew—and no certainty the cause of disaster will ever be confirmed—the Indonesian Navy will need to decide how much effort it devotes to examining and salvaging the wreckage.Footage from a deep catastropheInitial examination of the sunken vessel suggests the wreckage is in three pieces, with the boat’s hull and stern separated.The Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) has released video footage…
James Fisher Buys Lexmar
James Fisher has acquired the entire share capital of Lexmar Engineering Pte Limited and Lexmar Sat Systems Pte Limited (together 'Lexmar'). Lexmar, which was founded in 1996 in Singapore and a specialist providing diving equipment, will become part of JFD and will enhance JFD's saturation diving capability and offering. Together JFD and Lexmar will improve the regional support and capability to defence markets within the Asia Pacific region. The business, complementary to JFD’s specialist technical division, is currently completing three 18 man twin bell saturation diving systems. They are currently in the process of undertaking installation and commissioning in China and will commence the third system in Singapore early 2017.
Glimpse of Robotic Maritime Future at IMarEST Lecture
A former National Hydrographer of the UK addressed marine engineers at the recent IMarEST Gordon Hodge Memorial lecture. ‘Radical new technologies are approaching the maritime industry on a steady bearing and it is time to respond.' This was the key message former National Hydrographer of the UK, Rear Admiral Nick Lambert expounded. Today remote controlled drones are routinely deployed in Afghanistan and theatres of war elsewhere in the Middle East. Autonomous drones - normally taking the form of lightweight quadcopters - are becoming ever more sophisticated and intelligent, escaping the confines of lab environments and increasingly capable of exploring the real-world.
T&T Salvage Strengthens Singapore Team
T&T Salvage recruited three salvage professionals, Lee Hiok Liang, Alex Ang Yew Boon, and Hussain Shah, for its Singapore base. Lee Hiok Liang joins as a naval architect from a diverse background of twenty years of experience in the marine industry. Lee joins from Royal Boskalis, where he was a Senior Project Engineer. In this role he was actively involved in the construction of new dredging vessels, modification and upgrade supervision to ensure compliance with technical and quality standards.
Sub Threats Top Priority
In November, a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force plane noticed a suspicious object in Japanese waters off Okinawa. News reports at the time said it was a Chinese submarine scouting coastal water routes. The observation sparked a small international incident and illustrated the rising threat of one of the most dangerous weapon platforms available, defense analysts say. The amazing firepower of submarines, according to a congressional report, can take out ships and, if armed with cruise or nuclear missiles, even cities. They also can be used to spy, eavesdrop, transport Special Forces troops or float silently, awaiting the call to launch an offensive. They can cut off an army’s supplies by impeding military sea- lifts and can disrupt commercial trade to entire nations.
