Ville de Québec delivers : First Canadian-escorted food shipment arrives in Somalia

By Commander Chris Dickinson

Mogadishu, Somalia; 24 August 2008 — Rarely in life do we get a chance to do something right and special that makes a difference in a world full of hate and strife. On the morning of 24 August 2008, the crew of HMCS Ville de Québec got that chance with their arrival in the war-torn port of Mogadishu, Somalia with the World Food Programme supply ship Abdul Rahman. Abdul Rahman was carrying 5,407 metric tons of food to a country that has suffered terribly from civil conflict and famine.

It was the first of many escorts that Ville De Québec will carry out over the next few weeks in a mission that will ensure that food is provided to literally hundreds of thousands of starving people.

As I scanned the devastated harbour front of Mogadishu, I imagined how our Canadian naval predecessors must have felt as they steamed into burning Liverpool, after shepherding their convoys across an Atlantic full of prowling U-boats. Times have changed, and instead of U-boats the threat at sea is primarily piracy and, in the final stages of an escort, warlords and terrorists ashore who believe that the only way to win control of a country is to destroy the infrastructure that allows that nation to be ruled by an organized government.

Some will argue that protecting the world’s sea lanes from pirates is not a job for expensive navies, and perhaps another solution to this problem will be found some day — maybe shipping companies will be able to employ security firms to keep their vessels safe. Meanwhile, however, with 85 percent of international commerce moving by sea, the threat posed by what is clearly a booming and successful piracy business must be addressed seriously in the context of global security.

A good short-term response to the current threat is the establishment by a multinational naval coalition of a Maritime Security Patrol Area in the Gulf of Aden, where piracy has been escalating in recent years. Laudably, that mission is led at sea by our boss, Commodore Bob Davidson of the Canada, in command of the coalition fleet known as Combined Task Force 150, which includes three Canadian warships: Iroquois, Protecteur and Calgary.

In my time in the Navy I have been on many good missions. I patrolled off Yugoslavia during the civil war, I fought terrorism in the Persian Gulf after 9/11, and I have sailed with NATO on many occasions conducting maritime security operations. None of these missions gave me the sense of accomplishment I felt as I watched Abdul Rahman disappear around the end of the jetty in Mogadishu, knowing that the food in her holds would soon be unloaded. My final exchange with the Master perhaps was indicative of the good work done: “Captain, God go with you on your journey.” “Thank you, Abdul Rahman, God be with you as well during your time in Mogadishu.”

Ville de Québec’s ship’s company will continue their work quietly, knowing that they are doing something right and special that makes a difference, and is something that every Canadian can be proud to share with us.

Cdr Chris Dickinson is the commanding officer of the frigate HMCS Ville de Québec.