Canada will wait until after an inquiry before considering whether to demand compensation from Britain for a submarine that caught fire off the Irish coast.
Defence Minister Bill Graham made the announcement today as he visited the stricken submarine Chicoutimiin Scotland, where it was towed into the Faslane naval base with 54 crew members abroad, five days after the fatal blaze onboard.
The diesel-powered vessel, one of four submarines that Ottawa bought from Britain in 1998, underwent extensive repairs in Britain but caught fire at sea on its first trip back to Canada. Nine crewmen suffered smoke inhalation, and one died in Sligo General Hospital as a result.
Canadian opposition politicians have long said the purchase was a waste of money, and the fire has bolstered their case.
But Mr Graham said he was not in Britain to demand compensation from Secretary of Defence Geoff Hoon, whom he was due to meet later today.
"My first duty with respect to Secretary Hoon is to thank him on behalf of the Canadian Navy for the support that the British Navy gave in these very difficult circumstances," he told reporters after touring the sub.
"There is a board of inquiry. That will tell us what future actions we should take between the United Kingdom, between ourselves, and everything else. Anything else would be pure speculation."
Britain says the sub was in good condition when it set off from Scotland, but the Ottawa Citizennewspaper has quoted defence documents as saying the Chicoutimi's hull was so rusty the vessel could not dive to its usual depth.