On 3 September 2015, "Chicoutimi" was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy at Esquimalt. However, the sub was restricted to shallow-water diving. In October 2015, "Chicoutimi" was among the Canadian vessels sent to participate in a joint exercise with the United States Navy. "Chicoutimi" and "Victoria" were taken out of active service in 2016 after hundreds of welds were found to not meet quality standards, affecting the ability of the subs to dive. They will be docked at Esquimalt for several months. "Chicoutimi" is to be repaired first, followed by "Victoria". "Victoria" will be used for training purposes until repairs are effected. In September 2017, Canada deployed "Chicoutimi" on patrol in Asian waters, the first such deployment by a "Victoria"-class submarine. During the deployment, "Chicoutimi" marked the first visit to Japan by a Canadian submarine since 1968. The vessel returned to Canada on 21 March 2018 spending 197 days at sea, the longest deployment by a "Victoria"-class submarine in Canadian service.