Navy sends 3 warships to Persian Gulf

VICTORIA -- The Canadian navy is deploying three war ships to the Persian Gulf, one of the largest single naval
VICTORIA -- The Canadian navy is deploying three war ships to the Persian Gulf, one of the largest single naval contribution to the war against terrorism since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

About 850 sailors, soldiers and air force personnel will sail from June to September with an international coalition of ships from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Pakistan and the Netherlands, the navy announced Friday. The group mainly conducts security patrols and searches suspicious ships.

A large portion of the contingent, some 500 Canadian Forces personnel, will come from Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, outside Victoria. HMCS Calgary, a patrol frigate, and HMCS Protecteur, a supply ship, depart from the West Coast in the next few months, sailing through the Panama Canal to meet HMCS Iroquois somewhere in the Caribbean, navy spokesman Lt. Mark MacIntyre said.

The three ships then join the international group, called Task Force 150, which will run missions in the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The Canadians plan to take a Sea King helicopter detachment with them.

Canada will also assume command of the task force, a responsibility that is handed out on a rotating basis.

It is the fourth deployment of ships for Operation ALTAIR, Canada's naval contribution to what it calls the American-led coalition against terrorism.