**** DND Media Release
Royal Canadian Navy ships to join Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures in Europe
Today, the ships’ companies of His Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Shawinigan and Summerside depart their homeport of Halifax, N.S., to join Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) on Operation REASSURANCE.
The contribution of two Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV) to SNMCMG1 demonstrates Canada’s ongoing commitment to NATO’s high readiness continuous at-sea presence, and the Royal Canadian Navy’s leadership on the world stage to work alongside Allies to strengthen security throughout European waters.
This will be the second full-length deployment for HMCS Summerside and the first deployment for HMCS Shawinigan on Operation REASSURANCE. Both ships have embarked Royal Canadian Navy clearance diving teams from Fleet Diving Units Atlantic and Pacific, and mine countermeasure search capabilities using autonomous underwater vehicles.
The deployment of HMCS Summerside and Shawinigan follows on the deployment of HMCS Fredericton, which has been serving with Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in the Mediterranean since January 2023.
Quick Facts
- Canada has deployed Royal Canadian Navy ships on Operation REASSURANCE on a continuous, rotational basis since 2014, following Russia’s illegal invasion of Crimea.
- Deploying Royal Canadian Navy ships in support of NATO provides Canada with the flexibility to execute a range of exercises and operations in real training environments with our Allies. This helps support the Alliance efforts in the Baltic region, including surveillance, monitoring, and diplomatic engagement.
- SNMCMG1 is one of four Standing Naval Forces that operate under NATO Allied Maritime Command, headquartered in Northwood, United Kingdom.
- NATO Standing Naval Forces are multinational, integrated, maritime forces made up of vessels from various Allied countries which demonstrate solidarity, conduct routine diplomatic visits to different countries, support partner engagement, and provide a variety of maritime military capabilities to ongoing missions.
- Operation REASSURANCE is Canada’s largest current international military operation. In addition to a persistent naval presence in European waters, it includes the Canada-led multinational NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia, and a Tactical Air Lift Detachment based out of Prestwick, Scotland.
- HMCS Shawinigan and Summerside are Kingston-class MCDVs with a ship’s company of approximately 45 personnel of all ranks for a combined total of 90 sailors. The MCDVs are a modular platform which can accommodate several types of mission specific payloads offering the Royal Canadian Navy a large degree of flexibility in support of Allies.
