The Royal Australian Navy has again come under fire for the material state of the fleet. After recent revelations that three amphibious ships were unavailable comes word that all six Collins class submarines are also unfit for sea. The official government line was that two boats were in deep maintenance, two were in mid-level maintenance, and the others ‘in the water in Western Australia’.
However, those stated as available for tasking, HMAS Waller and HMAS Dechaineux, were both undergoing detailed inspections for the same mechanical problems affecting their propulsion systems, which were expected to take several weeks.
Elsewhere, the grounding of HMCS Corner Brook has also left the Royal Canadian Navy without any operational submarines. The incident occurred on 4 June as the former HMS Ursula conducted a training exercise in the deep waters off Nootka Sound near Vancouver Island. The submarine immediately surfaced and returned to Esquimalt for inspection.
