To parphrase Tom Hanks in A Leauge of their Own: There's no suing in international arms sales!
Canada may sue over its second-hand submarines
scotsman | CRAIG BROWN
Canadian defence minister Bill Graham, right, visits HMCS Chicoutimi.
CANADAS defence minister has refused to rule out suing the British government over the purchase of four second-hand submarines.
Bill Graham, speaking in Glasgow yesterday, said no decision on potential legal action would be taken until the facts surrounding a fire on board the submarine HMCS Chicoutimi last Tuesday - which killed the crew member Lieutenant Chris Saunders - were established.
He said: "Im not ruling out any single thing. Im certainly not going to comment on the likelihood of anything taking place until we have established the facts. Once we have the facts, we can all make our decisions.
"Were a great ally of the UK. We work together on many, many fronts, and we will work this out as friends do."
His comments came as Captain Luc Pelletier, the boats commanding officer, described to a packed press conference, also in Glasgow, the moments when the fire broke out.
"The smoke had nowhere to go and in one or two seconds the section where the fire was, was totally black," he said. "Where I was standing, I had a torch and I still couldnt see a thing."
He said that the submarines crew, unable to see the flames, had been forced to fight the fire by sensing the direction of the heat.
"Once the fire was out, we had to tackle the problem of being able to clear the smoke," he said. "At that time, Lt Saunders was being evacuated to another area."
Capt Pelletier said that he saw the lieutenant later and that the officer had been breathing without the aid of an oxygen mask. "Lt Saunders had been in one of the compartments where we had the fire. He tried to do his best to do the things he needed to, but was overcome by smoke in a fraction of a second."
The captain said the officer had been speaking to the crew just minutes before being air-lifted to safety, and he had not known about the lieutenants death until later.
Capt Pelletier added that two other injured crew members were recovering well in hospital in Ireland.
Mr Graham visited the stricken vessel yesterday at Faslane naval base, to where it was towed over the weekend with 54 crew members aboard, five days after the blaze.
The diesel-powered boat, one of four submarines that Ottawa bought from Britain in 1998, underwent extensive repairs in this country. However, HMCS Chicoutimi caught fire shortly after leaving the Clyde for Canada.
A total of nine Canadian crewmen were injured during the incident.
Mr Graham stressed he had not come to Britain to demand compensation from Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, whom he was due to meet later yesterday.
Canada may sue over its second-hand submarines
scotsman | CRAIG BROWN
Canadian defence minister Bill Graham, right, visits HMCS Chicoutimi.
CANADAS defence minister has refused to rule out suing the British government over the purchase of four second-hand submarines.
Bill Graham, speaking in Glasgow yesterday, said no decision on potential legal action would be taken until the facts surrounding a fire on board the submarine HMCS Chicoutimi last Tuesday - which killed the crew member Lieutenant Chris Saunders - were established.
He said: "Im not ruling out any single thing. Im certainly not going to comment on the likelihood of anything taking place until we have established the facts. Once we have the facts, we can all make our decisions.
"Were a great ally of the UK. We work together on many, many fronts, and we will work this out as friends do."
His comments came as Captain Luc Pelletier, the boats commanding officer, described to a packed press conference, also in Glasgow, the moments when the fire broke out.
"The smoke had nowhere to go and in one or two seconds the section where the fire was, was totally black," he said. "Where I was standing, I had a torch and I still couldnt see a thing."
He said that the submarines crew, unable to see the flames, had been forced to fight the fire by sensing the direction of the heat.
"Once the fire was out, we had to tackle the problem of being able to clear the smoke," he said. "At that time, Lt Saunders was being evacuated to another area."
Capt Pelletier said that he saw the lieutenant later and that the officer had been breathing without the aid of an oxygen mask. "Lt Saunders had been in one of the compartments where we had the fire. He tried to do his best to do the things he needed to, but was overcome by smoke in a fraction of a second."
The captain said the officer had been speaking to the crew just minutes before being air-lifted to safety, and he had not known about the lieutenants death until later.
Capt Pelletier added that two other injured crew members were recovering well in hospital in Ireland.
Mr Graham visited the stricken vessel yesterday at Faslane naval base, to where it was towed over the weekend with 54 crew members aboard, five days after the blaze.
The diesel-powered boat, one of four submarines that Ottawa bought from Britain in 1998, underwent extensive repairs in this country. However, HMCS Chicoutimi caught fire shortly after leaving the Clyde for Canada.
A total of nine Canadian crewmen were injured during the incident.
Mr Graham stressed he had not come to Britain to demand compensation from Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, whom he was due to meet later yesterday.
