HMCS Windsor forced to return to Halifax after trouble during training exercise; minor injuries reported

The Canadian Navy says three sailors aboard one of its submarines received minor injuries after their vessel ran into trouble at sea.

HMCS Windsor was forced to return to port after it experienced what a military spokesman said was a "flooding event from sea water stored in a tank inside the sub while at safe depth."

The incident happened Sunday, Sept. 10 while the sub was on a crew training exercise.

In an email to CTV News, Capt. Pedram Mohyeddin of Maritime Forces Pacific, said the crew took the appropriate action, and “followed standard operating procedures to address the flooding and resurface the submarine.”

Capt. Mohyeddin said the vessel returned to Halifax under its own power.

“Repairs have been identified and will continue through the coming weeks,” he added.

The extent of the minor injuries are not known at this point, nor how the ‘flooding event’ happened in the first place.

CTV has reached out for further comment, including what kind of repairs will be needed to clear the sub to sail again.

HMCS WINDSOR QUICK FACTS:

Built by: Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, England

Launched: April 16, 1992

Commissioned by the Royal Navy: June 25, 1993

Bought by Canada: 1998

Commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy: Oct. 4, 2003

VICTORIA-CLASS

The Windsor is one of four belonging to the Navy’s Victoria Class of submarines.

They were bought from the British government in 1998, and delivered to Canada over a four year period from 2000 to 2004.

The first three submarines—Victoria, Windsor and Corner Brook—were commissioned into the RCN shortly after arriving in Canada.

The fourth, Chicoutimi, was delivered to Canada in 2004, but was not commissioned into service until 2015, due to an onboard fire and the subsequent work required.

On Oct. 5, 2004, the Chicoutimi suffered a catastrophic electrical fire on its maiden voyage from Scotland to Canada.

An international rescue effort was launched to save the disabled sub, but not before at least nine crewmembers were found injured and 32-year-old combat systems engineer Lt. Chris Saunders was killed.

Beginning in September 2017, following extensive repairs, HMCS Chicoutimi spent a record-breaking 197 days at sea, patrolling the Asia-Pacific region from its home port in Esquimalt, B.C.

The deployment was the longest ever for one of Canada's Victoria-class submarines and also marked the first Canadian sub visit to Japan in 50 years.

In 2018, the Windsor embarked on a 133-day outing to the Mediterranean Sea for a pair of NATO training and counter-terrorism missions.

It was the first time a Canadian submarine was operational in the Mediterranean in more than four decades.

When Canada bought its four used subs from Britain in 1998, it spent $750 million. It has since put billions into maintaining and upgrading them.

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