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The Canadan Navy owns a fleet of four Victorian-class submarines, but they constantly have incidents of “bad luck” and spend most of their time in port.
The Canadian Department of Defense announced on December 21 that the HMCS Corner Brook submarine had a water leak due to the technician failing to follow the ballast tank discharge procedure during a test at the Victorian shipyard in March. damaged and unable to return to service by June 2021, one year late and 7 years late.
The problem with HMCS Corner Brook also reflects the disappointing service of four Victorian-class ships, the only submarine fleet in the Canadian Navy today. All four ships have had frequent problems for the past 20 years, most of the time in port for repairs or maintenance, making them the “haunted” warships of the country’s navy.
HMS Corner Brook returns to port after a voyage to sea. Image: Canadian Navy.
HMCS Corner Brook has been almost completely dismantled since the seafloor collision, causing its nose to break almost 2 meters during a maneuver off the Vancouver coast in 2011. The Canadian Navy investigation Concluding that the The incident was caused by human error, many people expressed concern that the collision could damage the ship’s hull to the point that it could not be repaired.
The vessel was put on a long-term maintenance dock since mid-2014, a process that is expected to take six years. In April 2019, a fire broke out on the ship during repairs, but it was quickly controlled.
The performance status of the other three aircraft is not better either.
The Victorian class was originally called the Upholder, developed by Britain in the late 1970s and built in the 1980s. Originally London intended to build 12, but the plan was canceled when only 4 ships were shipped, they were Enrollment in the period 1990-1993.
However, the four ships were disbanded in 1994 after the British Navy decided to operate only nuclear submarines. Officials from this country intended to sell them to Pakistan, but the deal was unsuccessful.
HMCS Corner Brook at the factory after the 2011 seabed collision. CBC.
The British government then approved the transfer of the four submarines to Canada in the form of a lease-to-purchase option in 1988. Under the agreement, Canadian officials will pay $ 427 million in rent for eight years, after which London will pay. . Sell them officially to Ottawa for a symbolic price of one pound.
The agreement also implies a bilateral agreement that will allow British troops to continue to use some bases in Canada.
The first submarine changed its name from HMS Unseen to HMCS Victoria, entered service with the Canadian Navy in 2000. Later ships included HMCS Windsor and HMCS Corner Brook, which were in service in 2003.
The latest, HMCS Chicoutimi, was spilled into the control tower by seawater while traveling from England to Canada in 2004. The incident caused a fire and a total power outage, causing the ship to lose control and sink. in the sea, a water. Canada’s defense was killed and eight people were injured by smoke inhalation.
Vessels and tugs were deployed to save Chicoutimi, return her to British ports for repair, and only moved to Canada a year later. The controversial incident in Canada over Britain’s decision to buy used submarines took four more years for officials to decide to repair Chicoutimi. The ship entered service with the Canadian Navy only in 2015.
In addition to the cost of chartering ships, Canada also has to pay an additional $ 98 million to refit four ships, which have been built over many years. In the process, all four ships were removed from the anti-ship missile and the Harpoon mines. In return, they were fitted with the Lockheed Martin Librascope fire control system, which enabled the launch of the American Mark 48 Mod 4 heavy torpedo.
Overhaul and maintenance also caused a number of problems with the Victora-class submarine fleet. A dent was discovered in the hull of HMCS Victoria in 2000, leaving it in port for three years after it entered service. The same ship also suffered “catastrophic damage” to the electrical system when a Canadian technician attempted to install a modern detector in 2006.
The Canadian Navy also found poor quality welds on all four ships, a problem that had stuck with the Victorian class for many years.
HMCS Victoria sailed for a total of 115 days between 2000-2010, while HMCS Corner Brook left port only 81 days in 2006-2008. HMCS Chicoutimi currently holds the record for the longest sea voyage with 197 consecutive days in 2018. By 2019, Canada does not have any operating submarines because all four Victorian-class ships must be in port for maintenance.
HMS Chicoutimi located a maintenance port in 2007. Photo: Wikipedia.
Ottawa plans to return all three ships to service this year, but Covid-19 also delays plans. Victora HMCS Victora left the factory in September, but is still in a test run and is not yet qualified for the job. HMCS Windsor is scheduled to be back in service in 2021, with the schedule to complete the maintenance of HMCS Chicoutimi.
The fate of the Victorian class is currently unknown, although the former is expected to end its service life in 2022. The government of Canada has planned to increase the service life of all four ships since 2017, but has yet to approve it. approve this project. The estimated cost to refit all four ships will be around $ 1.5 billion, allowing the Victorian class to operate through the early 2040s.
Many experts believe Canada should order new submarines, rather than spend extra money to repair and maintain Victorian-class operations.
“The Canadian Navy needs submarines, but the effort to keep the Victorians in service for many more years, especially since they spend most of their time in port, will be increasingly ineffective,” said the expert. commented military man Joseph Trevithick.
Vu anh (According to the Drive)
