By Lookout Production on May 24, 2022 with 0 comments
A long exposure of HMCS Yellowknife while the ship is deployed on Operation Caribbe, March 19, 2022. Credit: MARPAC Imaging Services, Canadian Armed Forces photo
Capt(N) Timothy Blois
Operation Caribbe Public Affairs Officer
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After covering 33,874 nautical miles, Ships HMC Saskatoon and Yellowknife returned to their home port of Esquimalt last Thursday after a total of 147 days at sea.
Both ships participated in Operation Caribbe, a US-led enhanced counter-narcotics operation in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Their return home was marked by hallmarks of naval tradition: the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy performed while the sailors’ loved ones waited on Pier Y.
While they were away, each ship worked in different areas of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Their efforts enabled them to seize and destroy approximately 872 kilograms of cocaine and gain valuable intelligence on smuggling networks. Ships went as far south as Ecuador, stopping in the United States, Mexico, and Panama for fuel and provisions.
Canada has been a contributor to Operation Caribbe since 2006, which resulted in the seizure of over 112 tons of cocaine.
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