Submarine rescue hampered

2004-10-06 11:02

London - A Canadian submarine was drifting in the Atlantic on Wednesday as British ships battled through rough weather to reach the stricken vessel and tow it ashore.

HMCS Chicoutimi sent out a distress call on Tuesday after an electrical fire broke out on board, and Britain's Royal Air Force sent a search-and-rescue helicopter to the sub, about 185km north-west of Ireland.

Nine of the 57 crew members suffered minor smoke inhalation, the Canadian navy said. They did not need to be evacuated, and the vessel surfaced safely, although its engines were shut down as a precaution.

"Well they've got emergency lighting on board, it is probably going to get a little bit cold, but they have sufficient blankets and other means to keep warm on board the submarine," said Commodore Tyrone Pile, Commander Canadian Atlantic Fleet. "It's going to be uncomfortable with the movement of the sea."

Second-hand subs

Three British naval vessels and two tug boats planned to tow the sub to a Scottish naval base. They were expected to reach the Chicoutimi on Wednesday morning, amid 6 to 8m waves and winds of up to 65km/h.

The incident has highlighted concerns about four second-hand subs Canada recently purchased from Britain.

The Chicoutimi, a diesel-powered patrolling submarine, was only turned over to the Canadian navy two days ago and was on its way from Britain to the Canadian port of Halifax.

Critics say the subs have a chequered history, cost too much and were not in good shape.

Newspaper reports

The submarines were originally built in the late 1980s and early 1990s for the British navy. They were mothballed in 1994 when Britain decided to stick with an all-nuclear submarine force.

One of the delays in getting the submarines fully operational for the Canadian navy was taking the time to repair cracks found in key valves after the vessels were brought out of storage.

The Times newspaper reported last week that the four submarines had been "dogged by serious malfunctions and corrosion."

BAE Systems, which was given the contract to prepare the submarines for the Canadian Navy, declined to comment on the report. - AP

- SAPA