From August 29th to September 18th, 2024, while conducting vigilance activities alongside NATO ships, His Majesty's Canadian Ships (HMCS) Shawinigan and Charlottetown monitored Russian submarines and surface ships.
Beginning August 29th HMCS Shawinigan monitored a Russian submarine and surface vessel through the Baltic and North Seas before handing over responsibility to His Majesty's Ship (HMS) Iron Duke, of the Royal Navy on September 1st. HMCS Charlottetown, flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) assumed monitoring duties on September 17th from ESPS Cristobal Colon of the Spanish Navy, also part of SNMG2, and monitored the vessels for the remainder of their journey through the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
During this period HMCS Charlottetown also conducted monitoring activities of a separate Russian Federation Navy submarine and three surface vessels as they participated in Exercise OCEAN 24, a large-scale Russian exercise.
HMCS Shawinigan is currently deployed to Europe alongside HMCS Glace Bay on Operation REASSURANCE with Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1), working alongside allied NATO ships to safely dispose of historical ordnance in the region's waters, in addition to participating in NATO enhanced Vigilance Activities.
HMCS Charlottetown is currently deployed on Operation REASSURANCE as the flagship for SNMG2, working alongside allied NATO ships to support regional maritime security in the Mediterranean.
The right of innocent passage provides standards and expectations for ships to follow while transiting the waters of another country. At all times the Russian vessels were observed to have complied with these standards and expectations.
