Stricken submarine 'not defective'

A stricken Canadian submarine that was among a second-hand fleet sold by Britain's royal navy was not defective, a defence expert claimed today.

Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane’s Fighting Ships, said if there had been any material problems with HMCS Chicoutimi, they would have been picked up during extensive trials.

Nine injured crew members were still waiting to be airlifted off the submarine, which was drifting in the Atlantic 100 miles off the west coast of Ireland.

Five British vessels were en route to the scene but the rescue attempt has been hampered by severe weather conditions.

The submarine made a mayday call shortly after 3pm yesterday when a fire broke out on board.

The incident happened just over a week after The Times claimed Canada might sue Britain over the purchase of four second-hand submarines – including the Chicoutimi – after they had been plagued by “serious malfunctions and corrosion”.

Mr Saunders said it was not unusual for problems to occur after a vessel had been reactivated but he defended criticism of the submarines.

He said: “There is not something inherently wrong with the class of submarines.

“They underwent extensive trials and if there were any material problems, they would have spotted them by now.

“This is not the first time it (Chicoutimi) has gone to sea.

“If there was a mistake, it was possibly setting an ambitious timetable.”

Mr Saunders said he could not yet be certain what caused the incident.

He added: “As far as we know, it was probably a switchboard fire, which would account for the fact they lost power throughout the submarine.

“It could be a material error or a drill error.

“We don’t know and I would not suggest it was one or the other.”

The expert said the Chicoutimi was likely to be among the last British submarines sold in such a deal as the current fleet was made up of nuclear subs.

On the public relations impact of the episode, Mr Saunders said: “It is a serious incident. I would not class it as embarrassing but it is unfortunate.”

Earlier, an Irish naval vessel was forced to abandon its mission to reach the HMCS Chicoutimi.

A spokesman for the Defence Forces said the LE Roisin had been damaged in heavy seas and had turned back to base.

It has not yet been declared a major emergency but a number of helicopters were on stand-by and an RAF Nimrod was overhead.

Britain's royal fleet auxiliary’s Wave Knight was heading at full speed to the aid of the Chicoutimi, as were royal navy vessels HMS Montrose, from Faslane, and HMS Marlborough, from Devonport in Plymouth.

The submarine has been drifting without power for some 22 hours and will have to be towed to the Scottish coast if it is unable to restart its engines.

Two tugs – one a British Ministry of Defence (MoD) boat from Faslane and the second a Maritime Coastguard Agency vessel from Shetland – were also attempting to come to her rescue, as investigation teams prepared to look at the cause of the failure.

The Canadian navy said the rescue operation was being blighted by arduous weather conditions.

The sea was extremely treacherous, with waves up to 26ft and winds of 35 knots, and it will be difficult for the ships to get to the scene safely.

Three helicopters from the North – two royal navy Sea Kings and a Merlin – were put on stand-by in Ballykelly.

A Canadian navy spokesman said nine of the 57-strong crew were receiving treatment on board for smoke inhalation, but added: “They’re all in fair health and none have felt at any point they need to be evacuated or require medical care over and above what the ship is capable of providing.”

The crew were “cold, dark and being tossed around”, the spokesman added.

The Chicoutimi had been en route from the UK to Canada – a journey expected to last a fortnight – when disaster struck, the spokesman said.

The vessel had been due to arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada, on October 18.

HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane said yesterday the electrical fire had caused smoke to spread throughout the vessel.

The root of the fire was an electrical panel in one of the submarine’s passageways, the Canadian Navy said.

The Irish coastguard was monitoring the pollution risk.