Mine Hunters Clear the Way during Exercise Trident Fury 2011

Credit:  MS Emil D.P. Edwards A CH-124 Sea King from 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron hovers over the deck of HMCS Nanaimo as it sails in formation with HMC Ships Saskatoon and Whitehorse, and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Orcas during Exercise Trident Fury 2011.

MS Emil D.P. Edwards
HMCS Brandon

On the surface, Victoria’s marine traffic met with a significant naval presence from May 2 to 13 as various classes of naval vessels and helicopters appeared to pirouette, drive reciprocating paths, and loiter in various locations in the approaches to Esquimalt and Victoria. However innocuous this behaviour appeared – or frustrating, depending on traffic density at the time – these units were working together to counter a simulated threat that lay beneath the calm, rolling waters regularly navigated by millions of dollars worth of shipping and hundreds of sailors daily.

Mine warfare made its return to Victoria, and it was a joint effort between Canadian and U.S. naval elements to stave off the threat posed by the simulated sinister sentinels lurking on or near the ocean floor.

While much of the surface fleet was conducting large-scale naval warfare off the west coast of Vancouver Island during Exercise Trident Fury, Kingston Class coastal defence vessels HMC Ships Whitehorse and Brandon were conducting subsurface surveys of the sea floor, looking for unusual, mine-like objects.

They were joined by U.S. Avenger Class Mine Countermeasure (MCM) vessels Chief and Warrior, and two 22-metre long MH-53 Sea Dragon heavy lift naval helicopters. They used a battery of underwater systems, such as forward looking mine hunting sonars, towed variable depth side scan sonars, a remotely controlled Bottom Object Inspection Vehicle (BOIV) that employs underwater cameras and a high definition sonar, and clearance divers who practiced inspection, neutralization and recovery techniques.

The combined force combed over 18 nautical miles of Victoria’s waterways discovering objects that did not belong among the usual rocks, wrecks and crab traps. When an object was deemed to be mine-like, or when a mine-like object was visually confirmed, a danger area was established around it until the simulated mine was either recovered or neutralized by divers, or by the underwater neutralization vehicle employed on the Avenger Class mine hunters.

For the crews aboard Brandon and Whitehorse, this task was a familiar one. “Our last major employment for route survey was preceding the Vancouver 2010 Olympics where Brandon and Whitehorse surveyed and inspected the major waterways leading to Victoria and Vancouver harbours,” LCdr Francois Laplante, Brandon’s Commanding Officer. “Drawing from this experience, we have managed to produce an efficient, flexible team that is capable of collecting high-resolution imagery of the sea floor bottom and visually inspecting any objects of interest.”

Brandon’s current mission was not just that of surveying the sea floor, but included escorting major warships in and out of the harbour, a task that would be required for both naval and merchant shipping if such a threat were real. As well, Brandon carried out surveillance of Victoria’s waterways to prevent mine laying vessels from succeeding at compounding the danger.

“Mine warfare is very asymmetrical in both resources and effectiveness,” said PO2 Joel Mullan, Operations Chief in Brandon. “To force an opponent into a state of attrition where they must devote time and many resources to follow up on a threat, a nation merely needs to imply that a waterway has been mined. This is something that cannot be taken lightly, unless one would dare risk losing high valued assets to a relatively inexpensive weapon.”

Mines can be inexpensive since they can be improvised from common materials. Depending on the level of sophistication, they can be mass produced to effectively close off a seaway. This option provides nations of lower economic capabilities with a very cost-effective deterrent to a major industrial opponent. Even if a mine were to cost $20-30,000 each, the fact that it could severely damage or sink a multi-million dollar warship is nothing to balk at. This lesson has been re-learned the hard way during several major conflicts throughout the last century – up to and including the first Gulf War where two U.S. major warships, USS Princeton and USS Tripoli, sustained heavy damage due to mine detonation. In fact, since the Second World War, the majority of naval casualties have been due to mines rather than from direct contact with an opposing navy.

With such lessons in mind, the exercise was met with determination by the crew of Brandon. During these periods of heightened mine readiness states, crew members sometimes ate cold meals, slept in messes if their cabins were below the waterline, and quietly performed their duties. Brandon worked in 12-hour shifts each day, “closed up” in a heightened mine warfare readiness state while it navigated survey routes that resembled those of a “Zamboni” refreshing an ice rink surface after each period.

The messes on board the ship found it next to impossible to keep in exercise character during the hockey playoffs, as many let off cheers at each goal of their favourite teams. This outburst of enthusiasm was followed by a battery of hushed reminders that they were still under noise restrictions intended to prevent the inadvertent detonation of acoustic mines.

If engaged in the most restrictive readiness states, the majority of the ship fell silent. Entertainment, ventilation and the water systems – including the heads – were shut down for periods of up to two hours at a time as Brandon transited over an area simulating a known location of a mine. In terms of force sustainment, mine warfare is certainly a battle of attrition. While the crews of mine counter-measure vessels have to endure long hours, uncomfortable conditions and the looming possibility that a mine may detonate, all the mines have to do is wait. Crew fatigue was monitored and considered during each phase of the exercise.

The exercise did allow for a few diversions, including a gun shoot in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, overnight anchorages, and a joint helicopter hoist exercise between a Sea King from Pat Bay 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, Brandon, Nanaimo, Saskatoon, Whitehorse; and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Orcas.

As the 11-day exercise drew to a close, the crew of Brandon felt confident they had “worked up” their mine counter-measure organization into a part of a cohesive and versatile team ready to far the challenges of mine warfare.