HMCS Ottawa is a Royal Canadian Navy . Ottawa is the twelfth and final ship of the Halifax class that were built as part of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the fourth vessel to carry the name . The first three were named for the Ottawa River. This ship is the first named for Canada's national capital, the City of Ottawa. She is assigned to Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and is homeported at HMC Dockyard, CFB Esquimalt. Ottawa serves on MARPAC missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Pacific Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone. Ottawa has also been deployed on missions throughout the Pacific and to the Indian Ocean; specifically the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on anti-terrorism operations.

Description and design

The Halifax-class frigate design, emerging from the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project, was ordered by the Canadian Forces in 1977 as a replacement for the aging , , , and es of destroyer escorts, which were all tasked with anti-submarine warfare. Ottawa was ordered in December 1987 as part of the second batch of frigates. To reflect the changing long term strategy of the Navy during the 1980s and 1990s, the Halifax-class frigates were designed as a general purpose warship with particular focus on anti-submarine capabilities. That made them slightly larger than the Iroquois-class destroyers.

The FELEX program comprised upgrading the combat systems integration to CMS330. The SPS-49 2D long range air search radar was replaced by the Thales Nederland SMART-S Mk 2 E/F-band 3D surveillance radar, and the two STIR 1.8 fire control radars were replaced by a pair of Saab Ceros 200 re-control radars. A Telephonics IFF Mode 5/S interrogator was installed and the Elisra NS9003A-V2HC ESM system replaced the SLQ-501 CANEWS. An IBM multi-link (Link 11, Link 16 and Link 22 enabled) datalink processing system was installed along with two Raytheon Anschütz Pathfinder Mk II navigation radars. Furthermore, Rheinmetall's Multi-Ammunition Soft kill System (MASS), known as MASS DUERAS was introduced to replace the Plessey Shield decoy system. The existing 57 mm Mk 2 guns were upgraded to the Mk 3 standard and the Harpoon missiles were improved to Block II levels, the Phalanx CIWS was upgraded to Block 1B and the obsolete Sea Sparrow system was replaced by the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile.

Construction and career

Ottawa was laid down on 29 April 1995 by Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. at Saint John and launched on 31 May 1996. The frigate was commissioned on 28 September 1996 at Cornwall, Ontario and carries the hull classification symbol FFH 341. At the time of her commissioning, the commanding officer was Commander Gilles Goulet.

After commissioning, Ottawa, accompanied by the , transferred to the West Coast, departing Halifax, Nova Scotia on 16 November 1996. Ottawa deployed in June 1998 as part of the Carrier Battle Group in the Persian Gulf as part of the United Nations embargo on Iraq. This made the frigate the first Canadian vessel to completely integrate with an American battle group. Ottawa participated with the Royal Australian Navy and United States Seventh Fleet in the multi-lateral naval exercise Operation Talisman Saber 2011 from 11 to 26 July 2011. Ottawa subsequently operated in the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group Nine and participated in Fleet Week activities in San Diego, California, between 26 September and 30 September 2011. The warship returned to its home base of Esquimalt, British Columbia, on 13 October 2011.

On 12 December 2011, Commander Scott Van Will became the commanding officer of Ottawa. Ottawa began working up for the next year of activity in January 2012. This began with directed workups and various training activities leading up to the larger RIMPAC sail in the summer. Training included new firefighting equipment use, Fleet Navigation Officer Training, and Air Detachment integration. There was also a stop in Port McNeill and Alert Bay to visit local schools.

The ship was scheduled to join the , and the for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. RIMPAC 2012 took place from 27 June to 3 August 2012. It is a biannual, multi-national maritime exercise held off the coast of Hawaii and is designed to improve interoperability and understanding between military forces from nations with an interest in the Pacific Rim, increasing stability in the region.

In June 2013, Ottawa received a new commanding officer, Commander Julian Barnard.

In July 2015, Sylvain Belair took command of HMCS Ottawa. On 25 August 2016, Ottawa rescued the crew from the burning fishing vessel Sherry C which had been trying to tow the disabled fishing vessel Tryon back to port off the British Columbia Coast. No one was hurt in the event and the disabled fishing vessels were turned over to the Canadian Coast Guard when they arrived on the scene. Ottawa and sister ship sailed from Esquimalt on 6 March 2017 for six-month deployment visiting several nations around the Pacific, including Malaysia, India, China and Japan among others, returning on 8 August.

In June and July 2018, Ottawa, along with sister ship and the supply ship , took part in RIMPAC 2018 around the Hawaiian Islands. In February 2019, Ottawa left Esquimalt for a month-long deployment training with the US Navy. On 6 August, Ottawa sailed for a six-month deployment to Asian-Pacific waters which included enforcing United Nations sanctions against North Korea. On 12 September 2019, Ottawa sailed through the Taiwan Strait while en route to the sanctions enforcement area. On 19 December, the frigate returned to Esquimalt after four months in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2023, Ottawa was deployed to Japan to participate in military exercises with the American and Japanese navies. After departing Japan, Ottawa had three encounters with Chinese warships in the East China Sea, including a close encounter with the destroyer . Ottawa returned to Esquimalt in December.

In October 2024, Ottawa departed CFB Esquimalt for a deployment of Asian waters as Canada's contribution to the multi-national Operation Horizon. On 26 December, Ottawa completed a mission to conduct anti-smuggling operations related to North Korea from late November to mid-December. While in the midst of the deployment, it was reported on 7 February 2025, the vessel's commanding officer was relieved of command as part of ensuring effective leadership.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

  • Royal Canadian Navy (Halifax-class Canadian Patrol Frigates)
  • HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) – Archived