Spanish Navy’s auxiliary oiler and replenishment (AOR) ship Patiño (A-14) returned to its port in Ferrol, Spain on March 30, after a two-month deployment with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
Patiño started its collaboration with the Royal Canadian Navy on February 12 when it arrived to Halifax , Nova Scotia following an agreement between the two countries.
The ship provided logistic support to the RCN in the North-American East Coast during exercise TGEX 2-16 with participation of Canadian and U.S. Navy warships. The purpose of the exercise was to simulate dispute and crisis scenarios similar to the conflict in Syria.
Apart from collaborating with the RCN’s Task Force in logistic-related aspects, the Patiño has trained 63 Canadian servicemen in replenishment at sea (RAS) techniques and other maneuvers.
It is expected that another Spanish Navy ship, the ESPS Cantabria, will join the Canadian Navy from Mid-September to November 2016 for a second two-month deployment.