contract for the VISSC will see CSMG establish a submarine maintenance and repair facility at DND's graving dock at CFB Esquimalt near Victoria, British Columbia. The DND graving dock is operated by Washington Marine Group as Victoria Shipyards Inc. Under the terms of the VISSC, CSMG contracted Dockwise USA Inc to transport Chicoutimi from Halifax to Esquimalt. On 1 April 2009 Chicoutimi was loaded aboard the submersible heavy lift ship Tern in Bedford Basin. Tern departed Halifax on 5 April 2009 and arrived in Esquimalt on 29 April 2009 where Chicoutimi was transferred to the CSMG facility. In January 2014 it was announced that Chicoutimi was repaired and was being prepared to be handed back over to the navy. However, the boat would be limited to shallow-water diving for the foreseeable future. It was announced on 28 September 2014 that the submarine began sea trials that would take seven-to-eight weeks to complete. On 7 December 2014 the Ottawa Citizen reported that HMCS Chicoutimi had completed her sea trials and was handed over to the Royal Canadian Navy on 3 December 2014. The boat was officially commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 3 September 2015. Operational service In October 2015, Chicoutimi, along with and , participated in the United States Navy's Task Group Exercise, a naval exercise held off southern California. In 2015, problems with welds were discovered aboard Chicoutimi and sister boat Victoria. Both submarines were docked to undergo repairs and Chicoutimi began training exercises in December 2016. In May 2017, Chicoutimi returned to port after problems arose with the main battery while conducting operations at sea. On 15 June 2017, while Chicoutimi was docked at CFB Esquimalt, the Cougar struck the submarine as it was exiting the dockyard. The initial inspection following the collision showed only superficial damage to the protective gear around the submarine. To deal with the ongoing battery issues aboard Chicoutimi, the main battery was transferred from sister boat Victoria. On 7 October 2017, CBC News reported that Chicoutimi had been sent on a first-ever operational patrol to Asia. Chicoutimi made a port visit to Yokosuka, Japan while deployed to Asia, marking the first time in 50 years a Canadian submarine has visited the country. The submarine was deployed off the coast of North Korea recording airport departures and arrivals and monitoring sea traffic. The submarine returned to CFB Esquimalt on 21 March 2018. Heraldry