HMCS Brandon back and ready for service
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2019 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
After two years of retrofit, the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Brandon is back in the water.
The 55-metre-long Kingston-class maritime defence ship, which was named after the city of Brandon, re-entered the navy’s fleet in July, according to navy Lt.-Cmdr. Maude Ouellet-Savard, the ship’s commanding officer.
During the refit period, the ship was repainted, resurfaced and inspected to ensure the 20-year-old vessel can stay operational.
“We’re like a big car that needs routine maintenance, so every five years the ship goes through a cycle of maintenance,” Ouellet-Savard said. “It’s a fairly long life for a ship, and we need to maintain it for years to come.”
The ship is a long way from its namesake city and is docked at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, near Victoria.
The HMCS Brandon has a crew of 30 to 40 people and is equipped for mine-warfare capability. It can also map out the bottom of the ocean and provide search-and-rescue capability, she said. The ship has 50-calibre machine guns, if needed, and can support the RCMP in police operations.
“It’s a pretty varied array of tasks that we can provide,” Ouellet-Savard said.
In the spring, the ship will be heading to Hawaii for the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, where the crew will support mine-warfare divers.
The ship was also deployed along the Pacific coast in October 2015 as part of Operation Caribbe. During its deployment, the Brandon seized two smuggling boats with a total of 9,800 kilograms of cocaine on board. In October 2016, the ship was deployed again, where the crew seized another 700 kg of cocaine.
While the plans aren’t firm yet, Ouellet-Savard said the new crew would like to visit Brandon sometime next year to get in touch with the city.
“We’re excited to be back at sea and to be able to represent the city wherever we deploy or operate in the next few years during out next cycle of readiness. We look forward to getting in touch with everyone and letting them know what we’re doing.”
» dmay@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @DrewMay_