Malahat sailors support Yellowknife cold move

A/SLt Forry on the deck of HMCS Yellowknife during its cold move in July.

A/SLt Donald Den, HMCS Malahat Public Affairs Officer ~

Seven naval reservists from HMCS Malahat were on board HMCS Yellowknife for two days in mid-July to help the ship’s cold move to Point Hope Shipyard.

A cold move takes place when a ship is transported via tugs without the use of its own propulsion system or engines. Yellowknife was taken to the shipyard for a standard maintenance and upgrade cycle

“It was a great chance for some of our newer sailors to get some experience with ship life,” said Able Seaman (AB) Emma Stewart.

The naval reservists also put into practice the COVID-19 shipboard Standard Operating Procedures they recently learned.

“Malahat’s sailors continue to gain experience and training while assisting the fleet, even during the pandemic,” said Lieutenant-Commander Andrew Janes, Malahat’s Executive Officer. “This comes from the great individual initiatives of our sailors that seek and deliver on the opportunities while maintaining safe practices.”

Working alongside the Malahat sailors were those from HMCS Edmonton, and civilian staff on board Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessels (CFAV) Glendale and Glendyne, both tugs.

The original cold move was planned for July 13; however, when Yellowknife reached Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge, it was unable to raise due to maintenance issues, so the move had to be rescheduled to July 16.

“Despite it taking two attempts, morale amongst all the sailors was high,” says AB Stewart. “Lots of people were excited to be back working on a ship, so it was a good experience.”

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