As Protecteur is retired, questions raised about naval weakness

As HMCS Protecteur was officially decommissioned at CFB Esquimalt Thursday, a former commanding officer of the key Royal Canadian Navy supply ship worried about the implications of having no military replenishment ships on either coast.

“We as a nation should have been preparing for the loss of these ships years ago,” said Don McClean, who commanded Protecteur between 1990 and 1993, leading the ship into the Gulf War and humanitarian missions.

The Navy announced in September it would retire four warships: one guided-missile destroyer from each coast, HMCS Iroquois and HMCS Algonquin, and both supply vessels, HMCS Protecteur and CFB Halifax-based HMCS Preserver.

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