Onboard: HMCS Calgary “We have been shadowing a dhow all night and we are going to do an approach operation,” the voice of the captain vibrated through Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Calgary at 7am on July 21.

In pictures: Canadian warships patrol Gulf waters

It was supposed to be a regular day patrolling international waters for one of the three Canadian ships operating in the region as a part of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150).

The coalition is made up of various countries that, under American leadership, participated in operation Enduring Freedom shortly after 9/11 to patrol international waters that are used for transferring or smuggling for the purpose of terrorism.

The dhow being followed was believed, according to intelligence gathered by CTF 150, to be carrying illegal substance.

Shadowing a suspect

In the darkness of the night, HMCS Calgary stayed back far enough to not be seen by human eye or binoculars that could possibly be onboard the dhow. But radars and sophisticated technology on the Calgary could watch and track where the dhow was going — no communication over radio was exchanged as to not forewarn the dhow.

A group of highly trained special forces onboard the Calgary, known as the Boarding Party (BP), was put on alert. At the right moment, Calgary’s captain, Cdr Kelly Larkin, ordered the crew to speed up towards the dhow.

It was clear the dhow had no flag on it — a violation of international law — which raised the captain’s suspicion.

As the Calgary approached within eyesight, the men on the dhow noticed and began to throw boxes overboard, all the while pretending not to notice the 440-foot, 4,900-tonne Canadian warship yards away.

Immediately, the dhow put its engines to the maximum speed and started to head towards Iranian territorial waters, knowing that the Calgary has no authority inside territorial waters.

Over the upper-deck broadcast, one of Calgary’s BP members hailed the dhow in flawless Urdu asking them to stop.

With little option, the dhow turned off its engines and waited while six members of the BP went towards the dhow on a powered Zodiac. After a tense hour of the BP combing through the dhow, they announced there were hidden boxes of alcohol onboard.

“We have to prove that these guys are linked to terrorists or else we have to let them go. If this is just illegal contraband, it is not our job to enforce other countries rules here,” Larkin said.

The link was not established and the crew of the dhow was sent off.

Although many of the operations prove fruitless, the thorough work by the Canadian Navy led the largest drug bust in the history of the Gulf on February 18 when HMCS Charlottetown discovered 4.3 tonnes of hashish hidden on a dhow. The drugs were traced to known terrorist groups fuelling the insurgency in Afghanistan and were thrown overboard.

This interconnectedness of crime and the proverb that, ‘To whom much is given, much is required’, have guided Canada’s decisions to conduct operations 119,312km from its territorial waters in North America.

“Since 2001 we have deployed 24 ships to the Gulf and our desire is to play a key role on the international stage,” Commodore Bob Davidson said. Davidson was assigned to lead the CTF 150 in a four-month rotation among the members of the coalition.

“I believe that wealthy nations have a responsibility to the world and we are here to show our commitment to this region,” Davidson said.

Although Canada has for a long time enjoyed the reputation of neutrality, its increased involvement in Afghanistan and the Gulf has created enemies. “We certainly have enemies right now, but it’s not because we have allies but because these enemies declared war on us,” Davidson said.

Post this story to:

Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook | Reddit