Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship receives lucky coin

The third Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship received its lucky coin yesterday.

Dec. 6, 2018, an important milestone for the Arctic and Patrol Ships (AOPS) project was reached with the keel-laying of the future HMCS Max Bernays, the third Harry DeWolf-class ship. The traditional ceremony was held at Irving Shipbuilding’s Halifax shipyard. 

The key-laying ceremony is a significant milestone in a ship’s construction and includes the placement of the newly minted coin on the ship’s keel. Ms. Vicki Berg, a welder at the Halifax Shipyard, placed the coin in the keel to mark the occasion. It will stay on the ship for its entire life and is a token of good luck.

“The keel-laying of the future HMCS Max Bernays is another notable milestone on the road towards Canada’s future fleet. The Harry DeWolf-class will enhance the Royal Canadian Navy’s ability to safeguard the interests and security of Canadians,” stated Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy in a press release. “It is fitting that an Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship has been named in the honour of Chief Petty Officer Max Bernays, a hero renowned for his valour and dauntless devotion to duty.”

The coin placed in the keep of the future HMCS Max Bernays is the fifth in the Royal Canadian Mint’s Second World War Battlefield series. It captures the intensity of the Battle of the Atlantic, a time at which Chief Petty Officer Bernays performed the actions that earned him honours and a celebrated place among Canadian Naval heroes. 

The coin selected for the ship conveys the sense of dangers faced by those who sailed the seas between 1939 and 1945 and is a tribute to all the Canadians who fought in the longest campaign during the Second World War.

The construction of the third AOPS is currently in progress. Once complete, and turned over to the Royal Canadian Navy, the future HMCS Max Bernays will be the first AOPS to join the Maritime Forces Pacific. It will be capable of navigating in sea ice up to one metre thick and will extend the RCN’s ability to operate in the Arctic.

As part of Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada’s Defence Policy, the Government of Canada is acquiring six AOPS to strengthen the Royal Canadian Navy’s capabilities while equipping its women and men with highly versatile ships. The ships will significantly increase the capacity of the RCN to deploy vessels simultaneously, at home or abroad, enabling the Navy to use its fleet more effectively.