A navy ship bearing the name of the Harbour City is celebrating 25 years since it was commissioned.
The HMCS Nanaimo, designed for coastal patrols, mine sweeping, law enforcement and pollution surveillance and response, is having its silver jubilee today, May 10, according to the Government of Canada.
“This maritime coastal defence vessel has accomplished much in a quarter century of service,” noted the Royal Canadian Navy in a social media post.
The first vessel of its class based on the West Coast of Canada was commissioned in 1997 and its first crew was comprised mainly of reservists. Over the past 25 years, the ship has supported RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and Canadian Coast Guard and has also been involved in search-and-rescue operations and environmental disaster response, noted the navy’s website. The ship has also been used for training and survey missions.
HMCS Nanaimo was one of 12 Kingston-class MCDVs constructed as part of a 1992 contract with Halifax Shipyards Ltd. in Nova Scotia, leaving Halifax in November 1996 and arriving at Esquimalt a month later.
The City of Nanaimo noted last year that the HMCS Nanaimo would be dry-docked for maintenance at Point Hope Shipyards in Victoria Harbour until the spring.
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