Alugoro , seen here on an intermediary barge while on its way to an alternative launch site. (Screengrab of video taken by an Indonesian industry source)
Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has successfully transferred its third Nagapasa (Type 209/1400)-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK) to an alternative launch site, after heavy silting was discovered at the original location where it was supposed to enter the water.
The vessel was transferred to its launch site at PT PAL’s dock at Semarang via a 300-foot intermediate barge, and is now slated for launch on 12 April if all precedents for the ceremony are assessed to be in order, an industry source confirmed with Jane’s on 28 March.
Alugoro was originally slated for launch at PT PAL’s dock adjacent to Jalan Letnan Supriadi as early as October 2018. However, PT PAL engineers later discovered that the location has become too shallow owing to sedimentary deposits. The situation was aggravated in recent years by construction work at the nearby Terminal Teluk Lamong, said an industry source who first informed Jane’s of the situation.
The submarine will now be launched at the same site where larger ships, such as the Philippine Navy’s strategic sealift vessels (SSVs), first took to the water.
Alugoro is Indonesia’s third-in-series overall for the Nagapasa class. But the boat is the first-ever submarine to be assembled locally at PT PAL’s facilities in Surabaya. The SSK’s assembly was done in collaboration with engineers from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) as part of a technology transfer programme.
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