HMCS Vancouver Arrives in the Land of Plenty

Ensign Yusuke Hara meets Commander Clive Butler during a CrossPol exercise while Vancouver transits in company of Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ship Fuyuzuki.

HMCS Vancouver arrived in Darwin, Australia, last week to take part in Exercise Kakadu 2016, Australia’s largest international maritime exercise.

The ship began its transit to Australia last month following participation in RIMPAC off the coast of Hawaii. While en route they stopped for a port visit in Guam before completing the transit alongside Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Ship Fuyuzuki, participating in joint training along the way.

Kakadu aims to strengthen mutual understanding and interoperability and will see Vancouver showcase advanced surface gunnery capabilities designed to better protect sailors and warships operating in littoral waters.

There are 19 nations taking part in the exercise from Sept. 12-24: Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tonga, United States of America and Vietnam.

Upon completion of Kakadu, Vancouver will embark on WestPloy 2016. This deployment will further allow the ship to engage in a variety of training opportunities with foreign navies while also visiting several countries in the Asia-Pacific region before returning to Esquimalt at the end of the year.