Canadian navy ships deploy from Halifax for NATO mission

Two Royal Canadian Navy vessels have left Halifax to take part in a NATO mission in the Baltic Sea.

HMCS Shawinigan and HMCS Summerside were deployed Monday morning as part of Operation Reassurance, which has been Canada's contribution to NATO since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

The pair of Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence vessels will be part of what the Navy calls "mine countermeasures in Europe."

"The two ships are kitted with a mine hunting and mine disposal capability," says Rear Admiral Josee Kurtz.

Canada began sending Kingston-class ships for the first time last year after initially offering frigates at the start of the mission, Kurtz says.

She says the operation isn't connected to Russia's war in Ukraine, but there are benefits to working with allied nations to have a presence in the area right now.

"Even if NATO is not directly involved in what's happening in Ukraine with Russia, the fact that we are positioning the alliance to be ready to react if called upon is very important," Kurtz says.

This will be the second time HMCS Summerside has been part of Operation Reassurance and the first for Shawinigan. Neither ship has been used for mine countermeasures overseas before.

Both vessels have approximately 45 crew members on board and are expected to be at sea for four months.

Several families were on the waterfront to say goodbye to their loved ones, some going through the experience for the first time.

"I didn't think it was like dropping your son at camp," says Gabbie Ponikvar-Wentges, whose son is on his first deployment as a naval warfare officer, "because you know you're going to see him in a couple of months. But it was very emotional."

Ponikvar-Wentges and her husband travelled from Burlington, Ont., to say goodbye to their son. 

"He's excited and loves what he does," says Tony Ponikvar. "We're happy for him."