Princess Anne to help commission new navy vessel in B.C. ceremony

The first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel for Canada’s Pacific fleet will officially be commissioned in a ceremony featuring Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles.

Princess Anne will be attending the event Friday in North Vancouver in her role as commodore-in-chief for the Canadian Fleet Pacific.

The Department of National Defence says the patrol vessel, HMCS Max Bernays, arrived in its new home port in Esquimalt last month, calling it a “pivotal milestone” in the expansion of the fleet.

It says the introduction of the ship, named after a Canadian naval hero during the Second World War’s Battle of the Atlantic, will allow the navy to better meet future defence challenges in the North.

The HMCS Max Bernays was built by Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and launched in Atlantic waters on October 23, 2021.

It is the first ship in the Harry DeWolf-class attached to the Pacific Fleet, although the HMCS Robert Hampton Gray is expected to become the second such vessel to make the transfer between coasts, the Defence Department said in a statement issued last month.

“These multifunctional ships will be at the core of an enhanced Arctic presence and will strategically complement the capabilities of our current and future warships through surveillance operations,” the statement said.

The office of B.C.’s lieutenant-governor said last week that the princess and her husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, would attend a series of events during a three-day trip to B.C., starting with the commissioning ceremony for the ship in North Vancouver.

It said that will be followed by an overnight sail to Esquimalt on Vancouver Island.

The princess’s itinerary includes a visit to the archives and collections space of the Maritime Museum of British