Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Fredericton set sail for Havana, Cuba, on November 18 to become the first Royal Canadian Navy ship to visit Cuba in over 50 years.
HMCS Fredericton will visit the ports of Havana, Cuba; Cartagena, Colombia; and Veracruz, Mexico, to enhance mutual understanding, cooperation, and capacity with partners in the region.
The Canadian government said the deployment aims to strengthen existing defence partnerships and establish new bi-national and multinational relations in order to achieve greater interoperability for future operations.
“Since the 18th century, Canada and Cuba have enjoyed a strong, positive, and productive relationship as friends and partners,” Canadian defence minister Harjit S. Sajjan said. “As Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Fredericton sets sail for Havana as part of her efforts to strengthen bilateral and multinational defence partnerships in the Americas, we proudly recognize the Royal Canadian Navy’s rich connections with the navies of the Americas.”
HMCS Fredericton recently returned from a six-month deployment in the Mediterranean Sea on operation Reassurance and completed two major exercises Cutlass Fury and Spartan Warrior.
The ship will have a Sea King helicopter embarked that will be conducting operations and high profile visits to Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico.