Used subs

The Victoria-class submarine HMCS Chicoutimi, nee HMS Upholder, suffered two separate fires while cruising northwest of Ireland, on its maiden voyage as a Canadian boat after a formal handover last weekend. The 57-man crew was left shivering and wallowing on the surface in rough seas when she lost all power.

Royal Naval medical personnel have got aboard and one death has been reported. The Chicoutimi will be towed back to Faslane, Scotland.

Chicoutimi and three other British-built electric-diesel subs were purchased in a 1998 deal, after Canadian naval officers convinced Ottawa it made sense to spend C$750 million on four subs the British had mothballed. The cost of the four has since reached $900 million, and is still climbing.

The British had mothballed these 15-to-20-year-old vessels – they switched to an all-nuclear fleet – and bringing the Victorias back into service has entailed a woeful list of problems, of which this fire is merely the latest.

The HMCS Chicoutimi crew are said to be bearing up and its systems are recovering by the hour. But one, Lt Chris Saunders, died from his injuries and two were airlifted to hospital suffering smoke inhalation.

One tug, the Anglian Prince, arrived on Thursday morning alongside the submarine, joining three Royal Navy rescue vessels that arrived on Wednesday. A second, the Carolyn Chouest, is expected later, along with a small helicopter carrier HMS Argus.

Food, fuel and medical supplies have reached the stricken submarine.

The fire, which broke out on Tuesday afternoon, had damaged the vessel’s switchboard and electrical distribution system, the “lifeblood” of a diesel-electric submarine.

The HMCS Chicoutimi was on its way to Nova Scotia from the Scottish base of Faslane, after being sold by to the Canadians by the Royal Navy.

When the alarm was first raised at 1500 BST on Tuesday, it was thought the fire and injuries were not too serious.

The Canadian navy has been trying to explain why the situation had at first not thought to be so serious.

Vice Admiral Bruce Maclean said: “It is always difficult at sea, in a situation where there are very few communications, where the seas are poor and where rescue ships are on the way to come to a conclusive result early on – so it always evolves.”

The HMCS Chicoutimi is one of four submarines the Canadians have bought from the Royal Navy – all of which are said to have had technical difficulties.

But Captain Steve Upright, from the Faslane base, said the submarine had been examined and declared fit before being handed over. He said: “The early indications of the situation on board Chicoutimi are that the problem is nothing to do with any technical aspect, the design or build.”