Canada's Submarines Ready at Last

HMCS Victoria departs Her Majesty Canadian Dockyard Esquimalt on February 14, 2014 By The Maritime Executive 03-01-2015 05:37:34

For the first time since Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines were purchased in 1998, the navy says they are now operational.

The submarines were bought second-hand from Britain's Royal Navy for $896 million in what was heralded at the time as a great bargain for taxpayers, says CBC News. However, they are estimated to have cost at least twice that much to update and maintain to modern standards.

“The vessels were full of rust and dents, and plagued by mechanical issues,” says CTV News, citing one critic as saying there is nothing to celebrate. “Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world, and we have a navy in advanced stage of rust-out,” CTV reports Professor Michael Byers, a specialist in Canadian defense policy at the University of British Columbia, as saying. “The navy feels [it is] necessary to celebrate the fact that three of its four submarines are actually in the water.”

However, the navy is painting a much brighter picture of the situation saying the submarines have been active at sea since 2003. They have participated in exercises at home and overseas, patrolled Canada’s coastal areas – including the Arctic – and participated in international operations such as Op Caribbe.

Canada’s submarine force commander says the life expectancy of the submarines is the mid-to-late 2020s, with the possibility of extending that a further 10 years.

The Victoria-class submarine fleet is an important strategic asset for Canada, said the navy in a statement. The submarines are extremely versatile, allowing them to operate in any weather condition for periods of up to 45 days, and perform in a variety of roles to fulfill Canada’s requirements for a balanced, multi-purpose and combat-effective naval fleet. In addition to their inherent lethality and strategic importance as a war-fighting vessel, they fill a wide array of peacetime naval roles:

Fisheries patrols

Surveillance of all three Canadian coastlines

Support to maritime law enforcement and other governmental departments

Maintenance of fleet skills

Bilateral engagement with continental defense partners

Participation in multinational exercises

Deterrence of would-be terrorists, smugglers and polluters

No other asset in the Canadian Armed Forces can rival the sheer deterrent impact of submarines, says the navy. Conventional diesel-electric submarines like the Victoria Class, because of the stealth capabilities and increased maneuverability inherent in their smaller size, as well as their extremely quiet electric propulsion system, have advantages in certain scenarios over their nuclear counterparts, especially in littoral environments and strategic choke points. This makes them a valuable strategic asset that will remain relevant for years to come for Canada and its international partners.

Canadian submarines are an important element of Canada’s strategic relationship with the United States. Canada participates in a global “water space management” regime which key allied submarine operators use for the prevention of mutual interference. As a member of the “sub club”, Canada gains privileged access to intelligence that would otherwise be beyond its means to attain.

HMC submarines Windsor, Victoria and Chicoutimi were all at sea in December 2014 and spent a cumulative total of approximately 260 days at sea in 2014. HMCS Corner Brook is currently docked at Victoria Shipyards to undergo its Extended Docking Work Period (EDWP) under the Victoria In-Service Support Contract with Babcock Canada Inc. It is scheduled to remain in EDWP until 2017.

In 2008, Canada’s Treasury Board approved the expenditure of up to a maximum of $1.5 billion over a period of up to 15 years for the in-service support for the Victoria-class submarines. The Victoria In-Service Support Contract (VISSC) was awarded competitively to the Canadian Submarine Management Group, now renamed Babcock Canada Inc.

Canadian submarines generally operate in an operational cycle in which each vessel is available to the fleet for six years, followed by two years in deep maintenance during an EDWP.

All Victoria Class EDWP performed during the term of this contract, commencing with HMCS Chicoutimi, are funded and managed through the VISSC. In June 2013, the Government of Canada exercised the first five-year extension option of this maintenance support contract, worth $531 million.

Status of individual submarines

HMCS Victoria

HMCS Victoria was declared fully operational in 2012. Since that time, Victoria has participated in various advanced international exercises such as the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), revealing the modern and unique capabilities of the Victoria-class submarine while providing anti-submarine training for Canadian and international maritime vessels. As part of RIMPAC 2012, Victoria was the first of its class to fire the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Mk48 torpedo, sinking the decommissioned United States Naval Ship Concord. This clearly demonstrated the lethality of Victoria-class submarines.

Victoria worked with Special Forces during Joint Exercise 2013 and other binational continental defence exercises, and also participated in operations on behalf of Canada.

HMCS Windsor

HMCS Windsor docked in 2014 to allow for replacement of one of its generators. The RCN took advantage of that docking period to accelerate the previously planned installation of some upgrades, including a state-of-the-art bow sonar system that wasn’t originally scheduled to go in until 2016. The new sonar system will bring the entire sonar suite of the Victoria Class forward – from 1980s technology into the 21st century – in order to continue to act on behalf of Canada in the face of emerging maritime threats. Windsor was back at sea in December 2014.

Windsor sailed from June 2005 to December 2006 and spent 146 days at sea in 2006 alone. The submarine participated in a number of large Canada/U.S. exercises, advanced and improved special operations forces capabilities, and trained with Canadian ships in essential warfare skills. Windsor also participated in the first-ever parachute rendezvous at sea practiced with Canada's Patrol Pathfinders (soldiers specialized in the insertion and extraction of follow-on forces). The submarine also conducted several sovereignty patrols off Canada's east coast for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance. Since the end of its last deep maintenance period in 2012, Windsor has spent a total of 174 days at sea.

HMCS Chicoutimi

HMCS Chicoutimi completed its EDWP and returned to the RCN fleet in December 2014. This was the first EDWP conducted by industry under the VISSC. This contract highlights a key strategic knowledge sharing initiative and partnership between the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian industry. The successful completion of Chicoutimi’s return to operations was enabled by the skills and talent of Canada’s submarine community and the relationships forged with industry. These partnerships enabled the establishment of new supply chains and the integrated logistics to sustain these complex weapons systems.

HMCS Corner Brook

HMCS Corner Brook is docked at Victoria Shipyards, in Esquimalt, B.C., to undergo its EDWP under the VISSC with Babcock Canada Inc. It is scheduled to remain in EDWP until 2017.

Corner Brook has participated in various NATO and Canada/U.S. exercises, where it received high praise for its contribution as a simulated enemy in order to assist in the training of NATO and U.S. surface and air forces.

Corner Brook deployed to the Arctic in support of Operation Nanook in August 2007 and again in August 2009, where it participated in a counter-narcotics exercise and conducted covert surveillance patrols in the vicinity of Baffin Island. In March 2008 and again in 2011, the submarine also deployed as part of Operation Caribbe. Corner Brook received a CDS commendation in 2008 for operational excellence.

Corner Brook’s crew received the Operational Service Medal for the submarine’s successful participation in Operation Caribbe in 2008 and 2011. Op Caribbe is a U.S.-led, multinational effort to interdict drug trafficking in the waters of the Caribbean Basin and the Eastern Pacific. These were the first operational medals received for service in Victoria-class submarines.

Two of the submarines, HMCS Victoria and HMCS Chicoutimi, are set patrol waters along the B.C. coast, and a third, HMCS Windsor, will operate out of Halifax.