Weather hampers Canada sub rescue
LONDON, England -- A Canadian submarine bought off Britain four days ago is drifting in rough seas as British ships try to reach it to tow it ashore.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said the Coast Guard received a distress call Tuesday from the HMCS Chicoutimi, and an air force helicopter was sent to the diesel submarine, which about 170 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Ireland in the Atlantic.
Nine of the 57 crew members suffered smoke inhalation, the Canadian navy said. They did not need to be evacuated and the vessel surfaced safely, although its engines were shut down as a precaution.
The submarine -- which had just been purchased from Britain's Royal Navy -- was on its way to Canada when the fire broke out. The Chicoutimi is non-nuclear powered and carries no nuclear warheads. Canada does not have nuclear weapons.
"Well they've got emergency lighting on board, it is probably going to get a little bit cold, but they have sufficient blankets and other means to keep warm on board the submarine," Commodore Tyrone Pile, Commander Canadian Atlantic Fleet, told The Associated Press.
"It's going to be uncomfortable with the movement of the sea."
Three UK navy ships and two tug boats were expected to tow the submarine to a Scottish port, AP reported. They were due to reach the Chicoutimi on Wednesday morning, amid 8-meter waves and 60kph winds.
The fire is the latest in a long line of problems to hit the submarines, which have been plagued by serious mechanical mishaps such as cracks in the diesel exhaust valves and a number of leaks. They are mostly confined to port.
The submarines were built in the late 1980s and early 1990s for the British Royal Navy. They were taken out of service in 1994 when Britain decided to stick with an all-nuclear submarine force.
Ottawa insists it got a good deal when it agreed to buy the second-hand submarines from Britain for C$750 million ($595 million) in 1998. But opposition legislators say the purchase reflects incompetence by the Liberal government.
"I do not believe we purchased substandard equipment ... the price was very attractive to Canada," Reuters reported Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham saying.
Graham admitted that the fire was an "important problem."
"Other ships have had fires in the past and no doubt there will be fires on board ships in the future -- this is something that our professional mariners are capable of managing ... There are risks in being in our Navy," he told reporters.
