Today, His Majesty's Canadian Ships (HMCS) Saskatoon, Whitehorse, and Brandon were paid off and celebrated for their service to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in a formal ceremony in Esquimalt, British Columbia.
A similar ceremony will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 3, where HMC Ships Shawinigan, Summerside, Goose Bay, Glace Bay, and Kingston will be paid off.
The term "paying off" refers to the British practice of paying a crew their wages once a ship has completed its voyage. In the RCN, the tradition continues with the term paying off referring to the formal ceremony where the naval jack, ensign, and commissioning pennant are hauled down, the crew departs a ship for the last time, and the ship is then no longer referred to as His Majesty's Canadian Ship.
Since their commissioning in 1996, Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs) have served as the training ground for countless sailors in both the Reserve and Regular Force and were an important avenue to improve at-sea Reserve Force augmentation within the RCN.
Kingston-class vessels and their crews deployed on Operation CARIBBE in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Oceans, Operation PROJECTION in West Africa, Operation REASSURANCE in the Baltic Sea, and on multiple domestic operations across Canada's three oceans, particularly in the Arctic and northern regions. They conducted fishery patrols, search and rescue operations, nuclear submarine escorts, mine-countermeasure operations, and national and international exercises.
The RCN recognizes and celebrates the long and distinguished service of the Kingston class and its crew members, past and present.
