Canadian Submarine Returns To Operations After Refit

Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) submarine HMCS Corner Brook has headed out on operations in the Indo-Pacific following an extensive refit and sea trials.

As per social media updates, HMCS Corner Brook recently spent a few days on a brief Vancouver port visit before heading out to sea “to conduct advanced training and operations.”

While in Vancouver she was visited by members of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps, who were given a tour of the submarine.

The port visit came with the boat having just completed sea trials at the end of her extended docking work period which began back in 2014. Her return to service, originally scheduled for 2020, was delayed by a series of problems including a fire and ballast-tank rupture.

As per media reports, the fully repaired boat returned to full active service at the start of this month.

The diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) boat was acquired from the Royal Navy in 1998; the former HMS Ursula, she had been decommissioned by the British four years earlier.

The renamed HMCS Corner Brook, named after a Newfoundland city, entered service with the Canadian Navy in 2003; she ran aground in 2011 near Vancouver, damaging the bow and necessitating repairs.

In the wake of her extensive refit she has been described as “the most advanced submarine in Canada’s fleet.”

• You can read more details on the RCN’s official Facebook page