Weekly Submarine Tidbit and Quotes of the Week (18 MAY 16)

First (of Two) Quotes of the Week

"These are unusually bad submarines. These are submarines that were rejected by the British Royal Navy, which tried to sell them to South Africa and Greece, both of which rejected them."   - Michael Byers, a defence expert at the University of British Columbia (related story follows)

Background

May 17, 2016 (video link with excellent background info) - Canada's troubled submarine fleet has been hit with another headache: hundreds of potentially dangerous welds

"More bad news for Canada's problem-plagued submarine fleet: two of the boats will be out of commission for most of this year because of shoddy welding.

HMCS Chicoutimi and its sister, HMCS Victoria, are stuck in their Vancouver Island port for months because several hundred welds can't be trusted to hold tight when the boats dive.

"Numerous welds are located outside the boats' pressure hull, which will require docking to complete the review and effect repairs," says a briefing note for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act.

Weld problems on HMCS Chicoutimi are costing the navy about eight months' downtime, with the submarine returning to sea only in the autumn. Beginning in February this year, technicians had to inspect 344 suspect welds on the boat and found at least 30 needed re-welding, often in tight spaces where work is difficult.

Technicians are scheduled to inspect 325 dubious welds on HMCS Victoria. There's no word yet on how many of those will need re-welding. Weld analysis alone will keep Victoria in port for five months this year, with additional time for actual repairs."

Second (of Two) Quotes of the Week

"If a weld blows on a submarine while it's 100 metres below the surface, every person on board dies. There's no margin for error when you're talking about submarines." - Michael Byers, a defence expert at the University of British Columbia

Submarines are always silent and strange.