WW-JanFeb 2022 issue.qxp_Pages-12-40-JanFeb WPD 06/01/2022 12:17 Page 20
CANADA
Edward Lundquist
HMCS Harry DeWolf circumnavigates North America
Canada’s Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel is at home in both the Arctic AND the tropics
2021 22 20 Warship World January/February 2022
Labrador was transferred to the Canadian Department of Transportation Coast Guard in 1957, and later to the new Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) in 1962, where it served until 1987. Labrador was the first ship to circumnavigate North America in a single voyage, a feat just equalled by Harry DeWolf. While the ship is designated an AOPV, the programme is known as the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), which is building eight ships at Irving Shipyard in Halifax as part of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. The 103 metre (340 feet), 6,600-tonnes ship has the RCN’s biggest helicopter deck. In addition to her crew of 65, she can embark additional personnel and equipment, such as science teams and containerised payloads.
The ship’s 6,800 nautical mile range and endurance are especially important for sailing in the remote north without support. Commanding Officer Cmdr Corey Gleason said his ship is suited to Canada’s unique needs, designed for both ice and extreme cold as well as the tropics, and anywhere that Canada needs to send it.While deployed, Harry DeWolf participated in Canada’s annual Op NANOOK exercise in the high north, and Op CARIBBE, which is Canada's contribution to US Enhanced Counter-narcotics operations under US Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATFS), in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. The 2021 Op Nanook was focused on preparing for a crisis response or any security issue that may arise. Harry DeWolf conducted surveillance patrols
All Photos copyright RCN
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or newly commissioned warships, the maiden deployment is a big deal. When your maiden deployment involved a circumnavigation of North America, then that’s a really big deal. For the Royal Canadian Navy’s newest warship, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430), her recently completed fourand-a-half-month deployment included a transit of the Northwest Passage and Panama Canal, and involved operations in the Arctic, Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. She returned to her homeport of Halifax on December 16, 2021. Commissioned in June 2021, Harry DeWolf is the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) first new warship in 25 years and first ice-capable vessel since HMCS Labrador in 1958.
