Ring the bell: International Fleet Week opens in Halifax
HALIFAX, N.S. — Cruise ship tourists stopped and gaped at the hubbub on the Halifax waterfront Thursday.
Parked on the jetty flanked by HMCS Sackville and HMCS Moncton, military officials and politicians opened Halifax International Fleet Week.
Surprisingly, it’s Halifax’s first fleet week, as the city hosts ships from the U.K., U.S., France and Germany, as well as Royal Canadian Navy ships before they sail away on Operation Cutlass Fury, a massive, two-week NATO exercise.
“We’ve got a very excited ship’s company,” said Cmdr. Ed Moss-Ward, captain of HMS Portland, in an interview before the opening ceremony.
“Our traditional operating area is in the North Sea, northern Europe, so this is a terrific opportunity for them to come across the Atlantic and this is the first trans-Atlantic crossing for the majority.”
Portland, which arrived on Tuesday and will be open for public tours, is similar to Canadian Halifax-class ships.
“It’s a submarine warfare frigate, with 200 people on board, primarily operating in the North Atlantic protecting the sea areas to the north of the U.K.,” Moss-Ward said.
This is his fourth trip to Halifax and the warm welcome, engagement of the public and “the maritime consciousness of the city” stand out, he said. Mostly he gets questions about the people on board the ship, he said, their lives and their day-to-day work.
“And that is quite useful to remember — that the people are the war-fighting difference in a ship. Every ship is fundamentally the same, it’s only the people on board that make the difference.”
Opening bell
Minister of National Defence Bill Blair rang the North Atlantic Convoy Bell, which commemorates the Battle of the Atlantic, to officially open Fleet Week.
“Halifax is the beating heart of the Canadian Armed Forces. . . . I hope that this is the first of many fleet weeks here in (Halifax). I’m confident it will be.”
- Public tours of navy vessels in Halifax and Dartmouth (a valid government ID is required to tour the ships, and people may be subject to a bag search).
- Concerts by the Stadacona Band.
- Fireworks.
- A six-kilometre run.
- A rugby match between the Atlantic Selects and Royal Navy rugby team at the Wanderers Grounds.
- A ceilidh at New Scotland Brewing Co. in Dartmouth.
- A sail past on Sunday to close out the week.
“It’s going to give those of us from the Royal Canadian Navy the opportunity to connect with Canadians and strengthen the deep and historic relationship between the Atlantic fleet and our home port city,” said Cmdr. Trevor MacLean, commander of Canada’s Atlantic Fleet.
“We want to demystify what we do for Canada, how we live and work at sea and what goes on in our dockyard, a place of great mystery under the Macdonald bridge that most people see on their drive to work.”
HMCS Ottawa and the Chinese
After the opening ceremony, Blair spoke to reporters about a incident involving HMCS Ottawa, which is on a mission off the coast of Japan. CBC, which is embedded on the ship, reported that they had several encounters with suspected Chinese vessels. The latest was on Wednesday, when they reported that a Chinese destroyer called the Luyang called to the Ottawa over the radio and came just over a kilometre from NATO ships.
Blair said Thursday that their mission is to uphold the principle of free movement in international waters.
“It’s why we’re there,” he said.
“These challenges were not entirely unanticipated, although they are deeply concerning. We will continue to work with our allies to ensure the principle of free navigation of international waters is upheld, even in some of the more challenging areas of the world.”
Blair wouldn’t go into detail about exactly what happened, but he said there are briefings and meetings happening to determine the appropriate course of action.
