HMCS Windsor submarine back in Halifax after battery malfunction

HMCS Windsor, the East Coast's only submarine, isdocked in Halifax Harbour formonth-long repairs and maintenanceafter a battery cell overheated at sea, Maritime Forces Atlantic says.

The submarine, which arrived Thursday afternoon, was delayed returning to its home base by several weeks.

On Feb. 15, the submarine was off the coast of the U.S. eastern seaboard when its crew noticed "a little bit of smoke,"Maritime Forces Atlantic spokesperson Lt. Len Hickey said Friday.

A battery cell had overheated and affected neighbouring cells in the stern, he said. The issue was isolated, and the crew found no "evidence of fire."

• HMCS Windsor battery malfunction delays submarine's return to Halifax

"Being a machine, these are things...not expected, but you have to be prepared to react,"Hickey said.

"Even when you have a preventative maintenance schedule and plan, you can't necessarily predict these things."

Docked more than aweek

To propel the vessel, the submarine has a battery in the front and the stern, each with more than 100 individual cells.

The submarine, crewed by 60 sailors, had been on its way back to Halifax after an exercise with NATO allies and the U.S. Navy.

The battery cell issue prompted Rear Admiral John Newton to order the vessel be rerouted to a military base at Norfolk, Va., to further investigate the problem, Hickey said.

It was docked there more than a week.

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Arrived on its own power

A team of Halifax engineers and other fleet maintenance experts flew to Virginia to investigate, and found overheating was the issue, Hickey said. The military previously said the battery leaked some discharge and called it a "minor mechanical incident at sea."

Hickey couldn't say what the team did, except that the submarine was safe enough to make itback to Halifax under its own power.

The submarine's arrival Thursday afternoon was announced a day later onTwitter.

Docked at least a month

For at least the next month, the submarine will bedocked for scheduled maintenance,repairs and further investigation into the battery cells, Hickey said.

The submarine's batteries typically last between five and six-and-a-half years. The ones on the Windsor are fiveyears old, and were scheduled to be replaced this fall.That timeline may be moved up, depending on what the investigating team decides, Hickey said.

Hickey could not say how much the battery issuehas or will cost.

HMCS Windsor has had problems before, with the federal government spending more than $226 million to repair, refit and maintain the submarine in recent years.