Regina arrives in the operational area

LS Rebecca Charlesworth and Stephanie MacLean reload a .50 cal heavy machine gun during a training exercise to trial the newly installed Herstal mount on the starboard bridge wing.

HMCS Regina is currently conducting maritime security and counter-terrorism operations at sea off the east coast of Africa as part of Operation Artemis.

Op Artemis is Canada’s contribution to Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), a multinational maritime task force combating terrorism across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Oman.

Regina’s mission is to deter and deny terrorist and transnational criminal organizations from using merchant shipping lanes to smuggle weapons and illicit cargo, while simultaneously enabling the free and fluid movement of goods and services in the region.

In general, Regina’s mission is similar to what previous HMC Ships such as Toronto have done in the region, although each ship has been assigned to different areas within the Operation Artemis Joint Operations Area.

“We are taking valuable lessons learned from previous rotos and adapting them to the constantly evolving maritime operations picture in the area,” said Cdr Dan Charlebois, Regina’s Commanding Officer. “Our presence also provides the Government of Canada with the flexibility and capability to respond to an emerging crisis in the region on their behalf.”

Regina and its CTF 150 coalition partners are working closely to promote security, stability and prosperity in an area that spans over two million square miles in one of the world’s most important shipping routes for transoceanic commerce and trade.

The Joint Operations Area includes the main shipping routes from the Far East to Africa, Europe and North America with one third of the world’s oil passing through the area and over 23,000 shipping movements each year.

It also contains three narrow waterways, or chokepoints, where ships have to pass closely between two shorelines that restricts their maneuverability and makes them more vulnerable to a littoral attack.

The area poses unique operational challenges as it is large and contains many diverse countries, cultures and people. It is also an area that has seen significant poverty, conflict and political instability over the course of many decades, which further complicates efforts to maintain law and order on the oceans and internal waterways of the region. Terrorism and criminal activity flourishes in these kinds of conditions, which is why these organizations choose to conduct and base their operations there.

“Once we determine what the normal pattern of maritime activity is in this area, then we can distinguish that from what is considered abnormal or suspicious,” said LCdr Gordon Roy, Regina’s Executive Officer. “From that point on, we can target suspicious activities and vessels to determine if they are smuggling illicit cargo and/or persons of interest that are directly or indirectly supporting terrorism.”

When illicit cargo such as narcotics is discovered and linked to the support of terrorist or transnational criminal organizations, Regina is authorized to seize and destroy the cargo at sea, thereby depriving these organizations of a key source of funding for their operations. This supports the counter-terrorism and maritime security mission of promoting security and stability in the maritime environment, while denying international terrorists, and criminal organizations the free use of the seas as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons, or other illicit cargo.

“The ship’s company has worked hard to prepare for this deployment over the last year, and we are eager to continue the good work of HMCS Toronto and build upon its successful mission,” said Cdr Charlebois. “We are ready to execute a number of missions across a broad spectrum of operations, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter-terrorism, regional military engagement and capacity building as well as international diplomacy.”

-Lt(N) Mark Fifield, Op Artemis PAO