Another Second-Hand Sub Springs Leak

[GoldenRod]

Sep 22, 9:47 am ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's ill-starred purchase of four used submarines from Britain ran into more troubled waters on Friday when it emerged that a serious leak had forced one sub to make an emergency surfacing.
Canada agreed to buy four British Victoria-class submarines in 1998 for C$750 million ($555 million) but since then the craft have been plagued by serious mechanical problems -- such as cracks in the diesel exhaust valves -- that the long-rage patrol craft are mostly confined to port.

The latest incident in June involved a faulty overflow tank on the HMCS Corner Brook that allowed 500 liters (130 U.S. gallons) of water to pour into the submarine. Less than a year ago the same sub suffered similar problems during trials.

"These subs seem to leak worse than a puppy with a bad bladder," Jay Hill of the opposition Canadian Alliance Party told Parliament. He later said he doubted whether the subs would ever be fully operational.

Canadian Defense Minister John McCallum defended the purchase of the mothballed submarines, saying Ottawa got the four craft at 25 percent of the cost of building new ones.

But he expressed frustration with the problems and blamed defense ministry bureaucrats for underestimating how much it would cost and how long it would take to refit the submarines.

"There have been problems and these need to be fixed, so you just have to be patient," McCallum told reporters, saying the error had "turned what is in fact a good news story into something of a bad news story."

[imdpapaa]

Should have bought P.T.S

[JOEM]

So that's why Daryl doesn't brag about his submarine anymore...

[RubyRed]

Sometimes you get EXACTLY what you pay for.

[NSCR FAN]

Let the buyer beware when buying used merchandise.