With due pomp and ceremony the Royal Navy handed over the submarine HMS Upholder to the Canadians at the weekend. The vessel was renamed HMCS Chicoutimi — after the city on the edge of Quebec’s vast northern wilds — and the maple leaf flag was hoisted. Then after its final preparations, it began to chug towards Nova Scotia.
”You just cannot beat the value of having a submarine that belongs to you, operating in your waters,” Rear Admiral Dan McNeil, commander of Canada’s maritime force Atlantic, said. The vessel, one of four diesel submarines purchased from the Ministry of Defence, began the voyage on Monday but by Tuesday afternoon, it did not look quite such good value. And it seemed to have little prospect of being in Canadian waters any time soon.
Chicoutimi was just 192km off the coast of Ireland when an electrical fire broke out, sending smoke pouring through the vessel.
The submarine surfaced and, a little like a new car owner forced to put in an angry call to the dealer who has sold him a faulty motor, the captain called for help from the Royal Navy. Perhaps unlike the archetypal used car dealer, the navy reacted with speed, dispatching a Sea King helicopter from Prestwick, an RAF Nimrod from Kinloss, the frigates HMS Montrose and Marlborough and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight. Tugs were also prepared which may have to tow the stricken vessel back into harbour.
The deal between the British and Canadian navies over the four submarines has been beset by difficulties. None of the three already delivered is in active service and the hand-over of Chicoutimi — the oldest of the four — was delayed because it was rusty and because it had been ”cannibalised” to get the first three submarines seaworthy.
Canada had seemed to be getting a good deal. The Victoria class submarines cost £900-million to build but were on offer for a cut-price £244-million after Britain decided to use nuclear submarines only. Chicoutimi was due to sail into Halifax harbour on October 18 and shortly afterwards begin patrolling Canada’s east coast on surveillance work and to hunt for illegal fishing boats. Now its future is unclear.
The Canadian military was on Tuesday night refusing to cast blame. A Canadian forces spokesperson, Captain Holy Apostoliuk, said three sub mariners suffered smoke inhalation but were not badly hurt. However, fresh questions are likely to be asked about the deal, which has already attracted criticism in Canada.
The MoD and BAE Systems, which refurbished the submarines, were putting on a brave face. A spokesperson for BAE Systems said it would work with the Canadian navy to make sure the vessel was made sound.
An MoD spokesperson said the sub met ”very high Royal Navy safety standards” when it was handed over. ”We don’t even know the cause of the fire yet,” said a spokesperson. – Guardian Unlimited Â