Andrew Tillett for Australia's Financial Review, has written an excellent article dated April 6, 2021. Here is part:
"New doubts over ageing submarines after floods, fire onboard"
"One of the Navy’s ageing Collins class submarines flooded twice in the weeks leading up to an electrical fire on board that has taken it out of action for months.
In response to [the Australian Labor Party's] questions on notice asked at Senate estimates, the Defence Department revealed HMAS Waller will return to service in September after undergoing extensive repairs following the fire on April 8, [2021] when it was docked at Perth’s naval base.
Defence said the the fire was caused by a flash-over of an electrical motor in what it described as an auxiliary machinery space.
While the fire was extinguished, it reignited several hours later before finally being put out. The air compressor motor and damaged electrical cables needed to be replaced.
“The root cause of the electrical fault, leading to the flash-over, is still under investigation,” Defence said.
But the department also revealed there had been two floods on board HMAS Waller in March.
In the first incident on March 22, HMAS Waller was surfaced off the West Australian coast when water flowed into the submarine through the conning tower hatch.
“All procedures and safety systems operated correctly. However, this water ingress caused numerous electric failures that required the submarine to return to Fleet Base West for repairs,” Defence said.
“The water ingress was caused by the combination of a large sea and swell allowing a wave to enter down an open hatch. This happened during a surfaced training activity being conducted at night.”
‘Sketchy details’
Four days later, during a diving exercise, a seawater pump failed, resulting in some flooding of the bilge.
“All procedures and safety systems operated correctly [Pete comment: except for the seawater pump failing?] and the submarine returned to the surface,” Defence said.
The department said procedural changes had been made to ensure training was conducted during appropriate weather conditions..."
SEE THE WHOLE EXCELLENT FINANCIAL REVIEW ARTICLE HERE