Navy identifies sailor who died after boat capsized in Halifax harbour

The Royal Canadian Navy has released the name of the sailor who died after a boat capsized in Halifax harbour on Friday night.

Commodore Jacob French, commander of Canadian Fleet Atlantic, told reporters in a news conference on Monday in Halifax that Petty Officer 2nd Class Gregory Applin of Shoal Cove West, N.L., was a crew member of HMCS Montreal.

"At this time, the family of Gregory Applin is experiencing a painful loss. The ship and those closest to Petty Officer Applin, the fleet and the entire navy are impacted by this tragic event," French said.

"We are doing our utmost to support the ship. We are doing our utmost to support the family and loved ones through this extremely difficult time."

French said HMCS Montreal had been conducting sea trials in the Bedford Basin at the north end of the harbour on Friday night in preparation for future missions.

He said this part of the trials required sailors to moor to buoys in the basin. They were scheduled to be there from Friday until Monday morning.

"At completion of the day's trials on Friday, a rigid-hull inflatable boat or RIB was being used to take ashore the trial staff to Mill Cove jetty, which was a typical drop-off point to affect crew changes," French said.

"The [boat] dropped off the trial staff shortly before [10 p.m.] AT. The [boat] began its return to the boat shed with a small boat coxswain from Naval Fleet School Atlantic and a second sailor from HMCS Montreal on board."

As the boat — more than seven metres long, with the capacity to carry about 10 passengers — was heading back to the naval dockyard, an "incident occurred which caused the RIB to capsize and throw both sailors into the water," French said

French said with no access to a radio to contact HMCS Montreal, because it was likely under water at that point, the coxswain used his cellphone to call 911.

The 911 call triggered the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and a rescue effort with ships dispatched from the Canadian Coast Guard. The sailors were pulled from the water and taken to the QEII hospital in Halifax. French said it was unclear how long they were in the water.

The temperature of the water late Friday night would have been just above freezing, but French said the waves were less than a metre high and the outdoor temperature was around -7 C, with the wind chill reaching about -10 C.

French said Applin could not be resuscitated. The coxswain was released from hospital on Saturday. 

It's unclear why the boat capsized, French said, adding it would be part of an investigation.

The investigation is being conducted by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, a branch of the military police, French said. He said that's standard practice "for this type of incident."

Applin, 38, was a weapons engineering technician who was involved in last year's deployment to the Indo-Pacific, which returned in October 2024. He had been with the navy for 19 years.

French said while the navy has had similar boats capsize in the past, it's not a common occurrence.

HMCS Montreal is no longer in the Bedford Basin and French said the navy is waiting for the appropriate time to start operations again.

"There's just a bit of a pause while we focus on the team and the family and then eventually they'll get back out there," he said.