Vice-admiral: Sub was ready
2004-10-11 07:59
London - The Canadian navy maintained on Sunday that the crippled Canadian submarine Chicoutimi, back in a Scottish port after a fatal onboard fire, was ready to go to sea when it left harbour eight days ago.
"I stand absolutely convinced that this submarine was in all respects ready to sail and proceed to sea when it left," vice-admiral Bruce MacLean of the Canadian Navy said at the British submarine base at Faslane, on Scotland's west coast.
The refitted sub - the last of four bought second-hand by Canada from Britain - was making its maiden voyage under the Canadian flag, bound for Halifax, when it was hit by an apparent electrical fire last Tuesday while submerged under rough seas off northwest Ireland.
Nine crew suffered from smoke inhalation and three had to be flown by helicopter to a hospital in western Ireland.
One of them, Lieutenant Chris Saunders, 32, a father of two, died there last Wednesday.
Taken in tow
The Chicoutimi (formerly HMS Upholder) was taken in tow and brought back to Faslane.
"It's absolutely impossible to understand what caused the fire," Pelletier said.
"It (the boat) had completed very successfully all the checks it had to complete ... I had complete confidence in the submarine."
British Defence Minister Geoff Hoon told the BBC that the Chicoutimi and its three sister boats "were brought up to Royal Navy standards".
"They had undergone rigorous trials and tests and, indeed, Canada has had the opportunity over very many years of surveying the boats and obviously has been in negotiation with the United Kingdom during that period."
The Chicoutimi was towed back to Faslane by three ships, working in turn, which had to face bad weather and high seas to reach the port on Sunday.
The leader of the opposition in the Canadian Parliament called on Thursday for an inquiry into the purchase of the Chicoutimi and the other three boats and the preparations to make them seaworthy for Canadian military service.
He said the Chicoutimi had "a history of safety concerns" which included cracks in engine valves, plugged turbine pumps, leaks, engine malfunctions, "and rust problems that restricted it from deep dives".