VICTORIA -- Two Canadian warships cruised past a Canadian Forces Base in Esquimalt, B.C., on the final leg of their journey home after being deployed as part of Operation Carribe.
The two Kingston Class vessels, HMCS Brandon and HMCS Saskatoon, left CFB Esquimalt on Feb. 18 as part of a U.S.-led mission to intercept and suppress drug trafficking in international waters.
Together, the two Canadian Navy ships, along with U.S. Coast Guard detachments, seized more than a tonne of cocaine in multiple drug busts off the Mexican and Central American coasts. The value of the illegal drugs intercepted is estimated, in Canadian dollars, to be more than $320 million.
"(It was rewarding) actually having concrete results after all the training we had done in preparation, and then throughout the operation we just carried on," said HMCS Brandon commanding officer Lt-Cdr. Maude Ouellette-Savard.
"Saskatoon had lots of success too with all their interdiction so I’m very proud of what they’ve accomplished on the deployment," she said.
Ouellette-Savard told CTV News in a phone interview while the ship was still at sea that it was good to go out on a high note. She went on to say that the accomplishments of the mission were something the two ships' crews would be able to share with their friends and families.
The two female-led Canadian warships were deployed with a combined strength of 86 crew members. HMCS Saskatoon, led by Lt-Cdr. Nadia Shields, had a crew of 38 sailors while HMCS Brandon had a complement of 48 crew members.
Ouellette-Savard told CTV News she and her crew were excited to get home after months of isolation.
Now that the two navy vessels are back at CFB Esquimalt, everyone who was on board will be offered their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, there was no traditional ceremony for the returning sailors.
