Officials at CFB Esquimalt say no one was injured when a vessel heading back from a training exercise struck a stationary submarine.
The Orca-class vessel Cougar was exiting Esquimalt Harbour when it hit HMCS Chicoutimi, which was stationed at a jetty, at around 8 a.m. Thursday.
Officials say the Cougar's propeller struck a wooden stabilizer guard on HMCS Chicoutimi below the waterline.
No one was hurt and the two vessels sustained only minor damage, naval officials say.
A qualified helmsman, and not a student, was at the controls at the time.
Navy Lt. Greg Menzies said the allision, which occurs when a ship strikes another stationary ship, shouldn't impact operations on either vessel.
The HMCS Chicoutimi, one of Canada's four submarines, has been docked at CFB Esquimalt for months as crews attempt to get it back to battle-ready condition.
It's the same sub in which a 2004 fire killed one man and sent two others to hospital in its first Canadian voyage.
HMCS Chicoutimi and the country's other three subs have been earmarked by the federal government for upgrades that would keep them in operation into the 2030s.
With files from The Canadian Press.
