The commission plans to determine the cause of the submarine's disappearance, evaluate the vessel's condition before it set sail and assess the Argentine navy and Ministry of Defense's search operation thus far.
The ARA San Juan — with its 44-member crew — ceased all communication on November 15 during a routine patrol in the South Atlantic off the coast of Argentina. The submarine's last known location was approximately 300 miles from Argentina's southern coast. The vessel is speculated by some officials to have disappeared following a battery failure. Others claim the disappearance was caused by an explosion onboard, noting that there was a loud noise recorded in the area where the vessel was last believed to be.
A large-scale search and rescue operation was launched after the sub's disappearance by various countries, including the US and Russia. Russia sent its Navy's oceanographic research vessel Yantar to help search for the submarine. According to US Southern Command, more than 200 US personnel, three aircraft and a Navy research ship surveyed more than 655 square nautical miles during rescue and recovery operations.
Although neither the ship nor its crew were found, the Argentine navy announced the termination of its active rescue activities on November 20.
However, the new commission, which consists of six Argentine Chamber of Deputies members and six senators from the country's government and opposition parties, will further investigate the circumstances of the vessel's disappearance, as the tragedy has given rise to doubt, confusion and suspicion among the family members of those on board.
Some relatives have accused the Argentine navy of masking the real cause of the disappearance while others have accused the navy of bribery and corruption regarding the alleged battery failure, BBC reported.
Luis Tagliapietra, father of crew member Alejandro Damian, told the Times of London, "something very serious must have happened for so many lies to be told and for the total lack of effort to find it."
Jesica Medina, the sister of one of the missing sailors, claims that a British Royal Navy helicopter was pursuing the Argentine submarine when it disappeared. However, the UK's Ministry of Defense has discredited these claims.
Argentina's naval chief Admiral Marcehlo Srur was dismissed from his position last month following the submarine's disappearance. Srur was appointed in 2016 by President Mauricio Macri and is the fifth senior officer to be sacked in the wake of the investigation.
