Cdn. submarine fleet cut to one until late 2009, minister's note says

For the next year and a half, Canada's Navy will have only one submarine at sea from its small fleet of four troubled, second-hand Victoria Class boats, Canwest News Service has learned.

And the damaged HMCS Chicoutimi might not be seaworthy until as late as 2012 - two years longer than officials said it would take for repairs - meaning it will have been mothballed for eight years, according to documents recently released under the Access to Information Act.

Canada's purchase of four used submarines from Britain for nearly $900 million, 10 years ago, has been dogged by controversy, technical setbacks and one notable tragedy - the 2004 fire that grounded the Chicoutimi after claiming the life of one sailor and injuring eight others.

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