Quoting an unnamed source,.......of course :
http://www.canada.com/components/printstory/printstory4.aspx?id=79f3aff7-45cc-4106-86e4-e8c6c3349f4e
Sub crew to blame for lethal fire
Report: Seawater in battery compartment may have caused short circuit
Sutton Eaves
The Ottawa Citizen
November 7, 2004
A fire on board a Canadian submarine that killed one of its crew was a result of human error, a British newspaper reported today.
Quoting an unnamed source, London's Mail on Sunday said initial findings of the inquiry into the tragedy show crew members left open hatches as HMCS Chicoutimi sailed on the surface in a raging North Atlantic storm. That meant seawater flooded into the sub's battery compartment, causing short circuits and an electrical fire.
"This looks like a simple case of a drill not being carried out. Had a hatch at the bottom of the conning tower been closed, the water would never have got inside," an unnamed British military source told the Mail.
He was referring to the Oct. 5 fire aboard the Chicoutimi that killed 32-year-old naval Lieut. Chris Saunders, injured two others and crippled the British-built submarine off the coast of Ireland.
Recent media reports quote crew members saying the sub's hatches were open when it was struck by a massive wave, allowing water to spill into the control room below.
An electrical fire sparked by the onset of water reportedly raced along the Chicoutimi's inside walls while crew members struggled to mop up the flood.
"It's a mystery as to why the submarine was on the surface," the Mail quoted the source as saying.
"She should have been underwater in those conditions. It was very rough weather."
Last month, some members of the same crew denied the fire was a result of "human error."
Earlier, other crew members had told the media it wasn't uncommon to have the conning hatches open while cruising in rough water.
A spokesman for the navy's board of inquiry investigating the fire said reports of open hatches are unconfirmed.
"There are a lot of theories and a lot of speculation but what the board of inquiry is doing is very much still in the fact-finding phase of its investigation," Lt.-Cmdr. Albert Wong told the Citizen last night. "It's premature to come to a conclusion at this point."
The board is expected to release its report by the end of the month once hearings, held in Scotland and now Halifax, are finished.
The proceedings are being held behind closed doors, despite appeals from Canadian media outlets to have the inquiry opened to the public.
A federal court justice ruled yesterday that the investigation will continue despite a request to have it halted while media outlets petition the courts for public access.
"As far as I am concerned, the operation of the navy is at stake," Federal Court Justice Sean Harrington ruled after a four-hour teleconference.
"That is the prime function, and that has to take precedence over the charter of rights of the press."
The CBC and two Halifax newspapers requested a cease in proceedings after the inquiry president, Commodore Dan Murphy, refused the media access to the investigation.
Warning that public access would cause delays, Judge Harrington wrote in a letter to the news organizations: "I must be mindful of the release of information that could compromise privacy, security, operational and international relations requirements."
The board has released three findings of its investigation so far. It revealed there was an ingress of water into the submarine, the fire was electrical, and there was an electrical arc, which occurs when a strong current jumps a gap in a circuit.
Lt.-Cmdr. Wong emphasized that the board has not made any connection between these three facts.
While the final report is expected by Nov. 30, the board can appeal to the chief of maritime staff to have that deadline extended.
"At this stage, we are still moving towards the 30th. But it's ambitious. There are a lot of things to do," said Lt.-Cmdr. Wong.
