HMCS Charlottetown sets sail on Sunday
Posted Jan 6, 2012 05:28:45 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HMCS Charlottetown will be leaving the Halifax port this weekend, bound for the Mediterranean Sea.
The ship and its 250-member crew will set sail on their 10-day journey to relieve HMCS Vancouver, and join the group of NATO ships currently patrolling the waters off the Syrian coast.
After a brief stop-over in Lisbon, Portugal, the Charlottetown will arrive at its main supply port in Sicily.
Cmdr. Wade Carter tells News 95.7 there is no set mission for the ship, but they will be prepared for any eventuality.
“It’s basically a high-readiness force, with rapid reaction in case of crises that come up,” he said. “So we’ll be positioned there in case the government of Canada needs us to do anything.”
Although the crew will be entirely different for this voyage, the ship itself spent much of 2011 in the Mediterranean. Canadian forces joined NATO allies to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya while rebels fought to overthrow their dictatorship. The country’s leader, Moammar Gadhafi, was killed in the conflict.
During those battles, Libyan soldiers fired on Charlottetown while it patrolled the coast. The crew took action to avoid the attack and fired back. No Canadian soldiers were injured.
“That’s what we train for,” said Cmdr. Carter. “It’s never a pleasant day, I suppose, when those sorts of things happen but we do train for that.”
Carter says he expects the ship will begin the voyage back to Canada in late August.
Tune in to News 95.7 for live coverage of HMCS Charlottetown’s departure Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m.
Watch the ship leave port Sunday morning on NovaScotiaWebcams.com
