Emotional procession difficult but meaningful

I had the honour Monday evening of participating in the procession for Sub-lt. Abbigail Cowbrough.

Cowbrough was killed April 29 in the line of duty when a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter assigned to HMCS Fredericton crashed while returning to the ship after completing exercises off the coast of Greece with NATO'S Standing Maritime Group 2, to which the Fredericton was attached.

It was an emotional journey from the airport to the funeral home in Dartmouth. Photos and videos posted to social media of people lining overpasses along the route simply don't do justice to the magnitude of the outpouring of public support.

For the entire route, people lined the highways. Members of the Canadian Forces stood at attention saluting; regular folks waved flags, their hands over their hearts in respect. Emergency vehicles, tow trucks and big rigs all stopped, lights flashing. Oncoming traffic was almost nonexistent; it had pulled over out of respect.

Some went out of their way to be there, lining up well in advance. Others going about their day stopped what they were doing, got out of their vehicles and stood there. Nobody moved until the long motorcade had passed.

I am sure the show of support provided comfort to the family. It is unfortunate that we will see two more processions in the coming weeks. Capt. Brendan Ian Macdonald, a pilot, was identified this week. He hailed from New Glasgow. The body of Sub-lt. Matthew Pyke, a naval warfare officer originally from Truro, has not yet been found. Also missing are Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, from Guelph, Ont.; Capt. Kevin Hagen from Nanaimo, B.C.; and Capt. Maxime Miron-morin from Troisrivieres, Que.

The CH-148 is the military version of the Sikorsky S-92A. The civilian model is flown by Cougar Helicopters to service offshore platforms off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In 2009, one of those helicopters crashed, with one survivor. It was located on the ocean floor, the missing still strapped into their seats.

That incident offers hope that the missing from the Fredericton will too be found. In other harbour news:

• Vole au vent, the offshore wind installation vessel, is due by the end of the week. The ship will transfer the turbine components aboard the Bigroll Beaufort currently tied up at Woodside. Vole au vent will then take the turbines to the installation site off Virgina for assembly.

• Atlantic Towing was replaced by Mckeil Marine as the tugboat service provider at the Port of Belledune, N.B. The port was built in the late '60s as part of a now-shuttered smelting operation. NB Power has an adjacent coal power plant and is the largest customer of the port. Mckeil will provide two tugs at the port.

• In other tug news, Svitzer was awarded a five-year renewal for tug services at the Nustar terminal in Point Tupper. Svitzer also services Sydney, Port Hawkesbury and Mulgave from that location. Svitzer used to operate from Halifax but left for the Strait area in 2010, when it formed a joint venture with Atlantic Towing.

• The CCGS Captain Molly Kool made a brief stopover in Halifax on May 2. It's one of three former offshore supply vessels acquired by the federal government and converted by Davie for coast guard use. It underwent minimal conversion work and was pressed into service as is. The other ships are being modified with helidecks and expanded accommodation. The CCGS Jean Goodwill will be based out of Halifax once the work is complete, and the Molly Kool will then receive the same additions.