Protecteur on the way

The decommissioned former HMCS Protecteur is underway from Esquimalt BC, bound for Liverpool, NS where it will be broken up by R.J.MacIsaac Construction Ltd. It suffered serious fire damage while returning from Hawaii February 27, 2014. It had been expected to pay off in 2017, but instead was decommissioned May 14, 2015.

Sailing from Halifax August 3, 1987, HMCS Protecteur was an impressive ship. It was transferred to the west coast in 1993.

The ship is not traveling under its own power but is in tow of the American tug Corbin Foss. The tug is no stranger to towing old warships. It was responsible for the successful tow of the former USN aircraft carrier Constellation from Bremerton WA to Brownsville TX just over a year ago.


The tug is giving an ETA of March 17 at Balboa, Panama. It is interesting to speculate on what will happen then. I would have thought that a tow from British Columbia to Nova Scotia would be considered a coastal tow, and require a Canadian tug. Maybe a stopover in Panama or a US port would break that chain, or maybe Corbin Foss will tow it all the way. Stay tuned on St.Patrick's Day.

.