Future HMCS Margaret Brooke officially delivered to Canadian navy
Three weeks after the Royal Canadian Navy's newest ship HMCS Harry Dewolf was officially commissioned for service at the Halifax dockyard, it was joined on the jetty Thursday by its sister ship, the future HMCS Margaret Brooke.
The second of six new Arctic and Offshore Patrol navy vessels built at the neighbouring Halifax Shipyard, it was officially delivered to CFB Halifax by Irving Shipbuilding during a ceremony attended by commanding officer Cmdr. Nicole Robichaud and her crew, Department of National Defence brass, government officials and Irving Shipbuilding CEO Kevin Mooney.
Federal Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan praised the shipyard workers, including members of its Pathways program to promote diversity among its staff, for its efforts in constructing the ship, which completed its first successful sea trials in the spring.
“Thanks to you, the Royal Canadian Navy will soon have another powerful, modern and agile ship in its fleet,” said Jordan at the dockside ceremony.
“A ship designed to work in some of the most extreme conditions on earth, to carry out missions ranging from surveillance and search and rescue to humanitarian aid and disaster relief across the globe.”
Jordan also pointed out that Irving Shipbuilding's involvement in Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy would contribute $2.7 billion to the country's GDP between 2020 and 2022, when the last AOPS ship is delivered, while supporting hundreds of jobs in Nova Scotia's shipbuilding industry.
“What a great day it is to be a shipbuilder in Canada,” said Irving CEO Mooney.
“I look at the second AOPS ship behind me, built in Canada. The evidence here is clear and compelling; the National Shipbuilding Strategy is working.”
The new ship is named after Second World War-era Royal Canadian Navy nurse Margaret Brooke, who was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her heroism following the torpedoing of the Cape Breton and Newfoundland ferry SS Caribou by a German U-boat.
In honour of Brooke's legacy, Irving Shipbuilders' portion of the ceremony signing the ship over to the navy was carried out by RN Tammy Gray, who ran the shipyard's COVID-19 rapid testing program that enabled production to continue through the pandemic.
As its commanding officer, Cmdr. Robichaud feels it's a special moment in history to take charge of the first Canadian naval vessel named after a woman, and is eager to take it out for its first official sea trials as a naval vessel in October.
“It's such an honour to be chosen for this appointment,” said Robichaud, a native of Red Deer, Alta., who feels a Prairie kinship with the ship's Saskatchewan-born namesake. “The history of Margaret Brooke is so strong, a Canadian heroine, it just feels unbelievable.”
The official naming ceremony for the future HMCS Margaret Brooke will take place later in 2021, with its formal commissioning ceremony expected to take place in the fall of 2022. Until then, Robichaud says the next few months will be like getting used to a new car, learning how the ship handles and getting the crew in sync with its operating systems.
“I'm looking forward to going up north. It's not an area of Canada that many people have been exposed to,” she says of the ship's future duties.
“It's majestic up there, I know my crew is looking forward to going up north and working with the communities up there as well.”
Officially known as Harry Dewolf-class vessels, the AOPS program will continue with the launch of the third ship, the future HMCS Max Bernays, later this year. It will be followed by the future HMCS William Hall, which began construction in February. The fifth ship, the future HMCS Frederick Rolette, began production in May.