Arctic and offshore patrol vessel HMCS Max Bernays arrives in CFB Esquimalt
Joy and Josephine Brandle have been waiting three-and-a-half months for this moment.
“We’re waiting for my dad because I miss him very much,” said Josephine Brandle, whose father is in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Her father is a leading sailor onboard Canada’s newest vessel, HMCS Max Bernays. On Monday it made its way into its new home at CFB Esquimalt after a long journey from Halifax that began on March 11.
“He doesn’t know we’re here,” said Joy Brandle, Josephine’s mother. “He thought I was working and she was in school.”
HMCS Max Bernays is one of two arctic and offshore patrol vessels that will be stationed in Esquimalt.
“This is a patrol vessel but it’s an armed patrol vessel and this gives us a sixth hull that we can go out and do various operations,” said Commodore David Mazur, commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific.
The ship’s main function will be to assert Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic’s Northwest Passage and along Canada’s West Coast. The vessel will also support international operations.
“It was about two to three years to build and the Navy took delivery of the vessel on Sept. 2, 2022,” said Commander Collin Forsberg, commanding officer of HMCS Max Bernays.
Built in Halifax, the vessel is a DeWolf-class ship. It’s103 metres long with a top speed of 17 knots, or 31 km/h.
The vessel has a range of 6,800 nautical miles and comes with ice-breaking plating.
“They were designed to break about one metre of ice at about three knots,” said Mazur.
The plan is to send the Bernays into Canada’s Northwest Passage this summer but first it will be deployed south to Hawaii for Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) – the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise – in June.
“These are like a utility pickup truck,” said Mazur. “They come with certain inherent capabilities but their real capability is that you can put almost anything you want on these vessels and modify them for what you need.”
The ship could see future uses for international humanitarian aid or disaster relief.
“You’re just going to see more and more capability added to this ship over time,” said Mazur.
The ship gets its name from Canadian Chief Petty Officer Max Bernays, who was awarded the Medal of Gallantry during the Second World War.
In 2026, the second DeWolf-class ship is expected to arrive on the West Coast, and will also call CFB Esquimalt home. That ship will be called the Robert Hampton Gray. He was the recipient of a Victoria Cross for his heroic efforts during that same war.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
Freeland tables motion previewing omnibus budget bill
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass the sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget.
Judge holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000 and raises threat of jail in hush money trial
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Court upholds Milwaukee police officer's firing for posting racist memes after Sterling Brown arrest
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a former Milwaukee police officer was properly fired for posting racist memes related to the arrest of an NBA player that triggered a public outcry.
New cancer treatment approved, but not everyone thinks it's what's best for patients
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
T. rex is at the centre of a debate over dinosaur intelligence
Surmising even the physical appearance of a dinosaur - or any extinct animal - based on its fossils is a tricky proposition, with so many uncertainties involved. Assessing a dinosaur's intelligence, considering the innumerable factors contributing to that trait, is exponentially more difficult.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.