The call of the bosun’s pipe brought cheers and tears as HMCS Fredericton pulled up to the jetty Sunday morning.
The ship returned to its home port of Halifax on Sunday after a successful seven-month deployment in the Mediterranean Sea on NATO Operation Reassurance.
“We were very excited,” says Chrissy Kauffeldt, who was on hand for the ship’s arrival. “This is our first long deployment, so we're excited to see him come home.”
It was a high-profile deployment in response to Russian incursions into Ukraine. HMCS Fredericton commander Jeffrey Murray says there were close encounters with Russian military ships and aircraft.
“We had one occasion on the Black Sea where we had aircraft actually overfly the ship at a significant altitude,” says Murray. “At no point in any of these interactions has there been any safety issues or threat to the ship."
New communications equipment installed during HMCS Fredericton’s mid-life refit made it easier for the crew to co-ordinate efforts with 21 NATO navies. There were visits to 23 ports.
Since deploying in January, the ship has travelled more than 32,500 nautical miles.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ron Shaw.
