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Canada decides to dock problematic submarines

Canada has decided to temporarily withdraw from service three British-made submarines, after a fire on a fourth vessel killed one sailor, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

Fire struck the HMCS Chicoutimi sub last week shortly after leaving Scotland for its base in Canada, killing a sailor and injuring nine. The vessel was stranded off northwest Ireland for five days, and towed back to Scotland on Sunday.

"It would be prudent to keep all submarines alongside until more analysis can be done on the possible causes of the fire," said Chief of Maritime Staff Vice-Admiral Bruce Maclean in a statement.

The submarines being docked are the Corner Brook, the Victoria and the Windsor, which, like the Chicoutimi, are diesel-electric-powered submarines built for the British Royal Navy in the 1980s, then refitted and sold to Canada in 2000.

The subs have been plagued by leaks, mechanical defects and, in one case, a dented hull.

Ottawa has not ruled out seeking compensation from London.

Recently a fire had broken out aboard the HMCS Corner Brook, according to Conservative Bill Casey, an opponent of Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Casey said the fire "was similar to the fire on board the Chicoutimi, in that it had involved the cables that ran through the captain's cabin."

Casey represents the eastern province of Nova Scotia. Its capital, Halifax, is home to Canada's main naval seaport on the Atlantic.

"I don't have any information on the issue that the member speaks about, but we'll certainly look into that," said Keith Martin, the parliamentary secretary to Defense Minister Bill Graham.

Commodore Dan Murphy, president of a board of inquiry into the Chicoutimi incident, told a news conference in Glasgow, Scotland on Tuesday that a fire spread through the commanding officer's cabin on the second deck and an electrical panel below it.

A smaller blaze also broke out in an oxygen generator 15m away from the captain's cabin, he added.

"It was startling for all of us," Murphy said.

"This was a major fire. There were, in fact, two fires -- one of a lesser degree -- and three locations were involved," he said.

The Chicoutimi was officially handed to Canada on Oct. 2, and was on its maiden voyage when the fire broke out.

On Oct. 7, Stephen Harper, the leader of the opposition in the Canadian Parliament, called for an inquiry into the purchase of the submarines.

The Victoria is currently at the Esquimalt naval base on the Pacific coast, while the other two subs are based in Halifax.
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