Justice appears to have been “on holiday” when an Argentine Court assigned responsibility for the loss of the ARA SAN JUAN.

Messages sent by the SAN JUAN on 15 November 2017 confirm beyond all doubt that the submarine was lost because the Commanding Officer ordered the SAN JUAN to submerge at about 1152 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and continue the transit to the north.

When submerged, the SAN JUAN could not ventilate to exchange air within the submarine for outside air which allowed hydrogen - an odorless and colorless gas - produced by the water-damaged batteries to accumulate to explosive levels. It is estimated that explosion occurred at about 1330 GMT. It killed the entire SAN JUAN crew instantly.

If the SAN JUAN had remained on the surface ventilating all compartments, the submarine would not have been lost on 15 November 2017. ARA personnel ashore who have been found culpable (deserving of blame or censure) by the Court in the loss of the SAN JUAN were in no way responsible for the disaster.

Based on the failure of the Court to properly evaluate the critical information provided by the SAN JUAN messages, the President of Argentina is urged to annul the Court's SAN JUAN decision and cancel the harsh punitive actions the Court recommended.

The Court's decision was not justice, it was misdirected vengence.