CanadaB次元官网网址檚 lone working submarine is now at sea.
By the time it returns to its dockyard jetty at CFB Esquimalt later this week, it will have spent two weeks cutting through Canadian and American waters to test its equipment and train its crew.
B次元官网网址淭his is an important milestone, particularly for all the people that have been working on her since summer 2005 to get her ready to this level, and everyone should be very proud of that,B次元官网网址� said navy Capt. Luc Cassivi, deputy commander of the ships and submarines that make up CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Pacific naval fleet.
B次元官网网址淏ut weB次元官网网址檙e just starting to kick the tires, so as important as this milestone is I think really the crucial one is once weB次元官网网址檝e completed all the trials and certification of the crew,B次元官网网址� said Cassivi, who has commanded three out of four of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 submarines, including Victoria in 2004. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 going to be mission accomplished for the entire team.B次元官网网址�
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 flagship submarine is scheduled to become fully weaponized and operational in 2012, bringing an end to a seven-year overhaul. The boat is expected to return to the shop for a two-year routine maintenance period in 2016.
On Dec. 5, Victoria, captained by Cmdr. Christopher Ellis, left for nearby Constance Bank with two civilian maintenance experts onboard as well as an eight-member naval submarine sea training team from Halifax, which spent last week training the 49-member crew in surface navigation.
B次元官网网址淚n the early stages we try not to go too far because as you start running the equipment you may have a few more problems than you expected, so itB次元官网网址檚 good to stay close by,B次元官网网址� said Cassivi, a Vic West resident.
With assistance from a Sea King helicopter, the crew also practised evacuation procedures.
The diesel-electric vessel is spending this week sailing to different locations, including Bangor, Wash., where Victoria will have its magnetic field reduced so that it canB次元官网网址檛 be detected underwater and to protect it from mines.
Training and testing are expected to ramp up in the new year, with dives in January followed by weapons testing at the militaryB次元官网网址檚 experimental test range in Nanoose Bay.
That will be one of the last steps before it is declared fully operational, capping off more than a year of significant milestones. In April, it left drydock after five years, and despite suffering a fire in September, Victoria successfully conducted test dives in Esquimalt harbour.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 reverse engineering in a way,B次元官网网址� Cassivi said of the effort required to overhaul and modernize the vessel, one of four purchased from England. B次元官网网址淲e had to learn how to maintain it. WeB次元官网网址檙e not the ones who built it so it takes a little bit more time.B次元官网网址�
