HMCS Charlottetown deploys for overseas Mediterranean mission

Family, friends and VIPs bade farewell to HMCS Charlottetown as it pulled away from the jetty and headed overseas for a six-month deployment. Photo by: Master Seaman Peter Reed Formation Imaging Services Halifax

HMCS Charlottetown departed from Halifax June 27 as the designated forward deployed ship of the Royal Canadian Navy, replacing HMCS Fredericton in that role.

Fredericton has been employed on Operation Reassurance since January 2016.

Charlottetown will provide Canada the flexibility to execute a range of missions across a broad spectrum of operations in support of allied efforts in the region, including surveillance and monitoring, regional defence, diplomatic engagement, and capacity building.

The ship’s mission will be the third to employ one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Enhanced Naval Boarding Parties, a specialized team that is capable of executing a full range of maritime interdiction operations.

Charlottetown’s last international deployment was in 2012, when the ship served on Operation Metric, Canada’s support to enhanced security in the eastern Mediterranean region, and Operation Artemis, Canada’s support to counterterrorism and maritime security in the Red  Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, and the Indian Ocean.