One down: HMCS Vancouver completes first patrol off Libya

By Lieutenant (Navy) Tony Wright

On 24 August 2011, with the ship’s last port of Palma de Mallorca already fading into memory, HMCS Vancouver began her first patrol after relieving HMCS Charlottetown of her duties as part of Operation MOBILE. The month long "beat" along the coast of Libya, from Tripoli to Sirte, saw the crew employ many of the skills they have practised in the months leading up to this important international mission.

Vancouver, along with Canada’s NATO partners, as part of NATO Task Group 455.01 (TG 455.01), was busy implementing United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. Vancouver is conducting maritime operations to protect the civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack in Libya, aiding in the maintenance of the no-fly zone, and enforcing an arms embargo. Vancouver also remains ready to conduct humanitarian assistance and search-and-rescue operations as requested.

During her first patrol, Vancouver’s embarked CH-124 Sea King helicopter, Trojan 51, has been instrumental in building the “recognized maritime picture,” or RMP. The RMP is a snapshot of everything that is happening in our assigned area and provides crucial information for the ship and for our NATO partners.

By building the RMP, Vancouver has been able to determine the “pattern of life” in the areas she patrols. Understanding what constitutes the norm allows the ship and the helicopter to identify vessels that are not behaving in accordance with established traffic patterns.

Beyond her helicopter’s reach, HMCS Vancouver is also able to collect intelligence from a range of sources. Vancouver is a link in NATO’s intelligence chain, and the crew’s collection, analysis and reporting of vital information has more than once contributed to tangible results on the ground.

"The crew has done an exceptional job on this longer-than-normal first patrol," said Lieutenant-Commander Ryan Tettamanti, Vancouver’s Executive Officer. "Our ship and crew are playing an important role in this operation; not just on the sea, but in the air and on land as well. Canadians can be very proud of the contribution they are making to help Libya and its people."

Not all of Vancouver’s encounters during this patrol have been at arm’s length. In building the RMP, the ship regularly hails vessels in her area of operations, or AOR. Based on the responses provided, the Commander of Task Group 455.01 may order a boarding, as he did for a merchant tanker transiting Vancouver’s AOR.

Without delay, the Vancouver boarding team suited up, embarked in the ship’s rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), and boarded the tanker as Vancouver kept station close by to oversee the operation.

Over the next three hours, the boarding team identified each of the 22 members of the crew, verified the cargo, and extensively searched the 53,000 ton tanker for prohibited cargo in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions. On completion of the inspection, everything was deemed in order and the tanker was cleared to proceed. Regardless of the outcome of a boarding, the data accumulated on the vessels that ply the coastal waters of Libya is very valuable to the operation.

True to the ship’s motto "Semper vigilans" — "Ever on guard" — Vancouver’s crew will maintain its close watch on Libya for the next patrol and those that follow.