Three dead, five rescued in SA Navy submarine disaster off Kommetjie, Cape Town

Thanks for all the sympathy to the submariners that have lost their lives on serving their country. T stress and put some light on the SA Navy. I have the utmost respect for all the submariners serving in the SA Navy. I am also talking as a parent of one of the submariners that were on the submarine during this disaster. we as parents know when they go out to see and hope to hear from them when they return from see. You don’t know where they are 90% of the time. So, you as a parent can't get in your car and go looking for them. All of them are in the hands of the SA Navy and I as a parent have the utmost respect for the SA Navy. I can only thank the Lord that my daughter is one of the submariners that will be returning home. My heartfelt condolences to the families that have lost one of their children, Farther, brother. I can only imagine what they are going thru. As I have been in the same situation after receiving the message of the disaster. You don’t know what to expect. So if any person want to leave a comment please do so, and I will defend the sailors/submariners of the SA Navy.

As someone who has spent a lot of time at sea one thing that's puzzling to me is how why the submarine appears to have been positioned to take the sea on its beam. A beam sea causes extreme instability in most vessels, but especially a submarine which has no keel and less ballast than a surface vessel. When operating in a heavy sea, vessels typically adopt one of two strategies. The first is to "heave to,” which involves an after quarter and drifting along with the wind. This was clearly impossible given how close the sub was to shore and the wind direction. The second strategy is to take the sea head on by pointing the bow towards the direction of wind and waves. That makes it easier to prevent the vessel from rolling -although on a submarine it would mean that everything forward of the sail would be awash most of the time. Given the severe budget constraints and the doubtful professionalism of the Navy's Junior and mid-level officers, I suspect that the problem boils down to poor seamanship. It's true that naval vessels must practice in all conditions, but if they're not practicing the right approach to the conditions, disasters like this are to be expected.

Deepest condolences to the families of the mariners who passed away in this distressing accident at sea. A word of praise to the rescuers for their bravery. May their souls rest.

Sincere condolences to the families of the deceased. A huge shout out to NSRI and the other Cape Town and province supporting rescue services.

The Government should immediately donate R100 million to the NSRI (no strings attached).

The swell wasn't unusually large yesterday, I surfed.

What was needed here is humble-male-common-sense! I was on a frigate many decades ago, and i was present when a senior seaman said to our captain: "Sir, we cannot do that!" We all were fully trained, not tainted by a hidden feeling that we don't deserve to be there, but humble enough to acknowledge dangerous situations. On another trip we sailed to Gough Island, with a helicopter on board, to pick up a sick person on the island, and the pilots refused to use the helicopter to rescue that man, because of the wind, waves and swelling. Not because they were cowards, but because they were well trained, they used common sense and their egos did not get in the way

May the souls of the faithful departed rest in God's peace and rise in His glory. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families, know that God will get you through this storm, to those still in hospital we pray for a speedy recovery and may God continue to bless you abundantly. To the whole SA Navy kindly note that we as the Nation pray for you as you guys have also lost colleagues and friends.

Sounds like the real heroes are the NSRI, an organisation funded solely by donations and sponsorships. I hope people respond by supporting these amazing volunteers!

Sheer incompetence