HMCS Fraser (DDH 233)

HMCS Fraser (DDH 233) was a St. Laurent-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1957–1994. Fraser was the last survivor of the St. Laurent-class destroyer which were the first Canadian designed and built warships.

Military career
Fraser was commissioned into the RCN on 28 June 1957 and initially carried the pennant number DDE 233 as a destroyer escort, based until 1965 at Esquimalt, British Columbia. She began conversion to a destroyer helicopter escort (DDH) in 1965 and was officially reclassed with pennant DDH 233 on 22 October 1966. The DDH Fraser served repeatedly as a demonstration platform for new naval technology in the Canadian Navy. She demonstrated the Canadian "beartrap" helicopter haul-down system in 1967 during a visit to Washington, DC. In 1968, Fraser was the first Canadian ship to carry the Experimental Towed Array Sonar System and was the first to test the NIXIE torpedo decoy system.

Fraser was selected by the Canadian Forces for the Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) project and completed this refit on 28 May 1982. The destroyer was decommissioned from active service in the Forces on 5 October 1994 and placed in category C reserve.

Purchase by Artificial Reef Society of Nova Scotia
Fraser was declared surplus in the late 1990s by the Canadian Forces and given to the Artificial Reef Society of Nova Scotia in 1998. ARSNS had never considered sinking Fraser as an artificial reef diving attraction and she was towed to Bridgewater where she was stored for possible use as a museum ship.

ARSNS had purchased the government wharf in Bridgewater on the east bank of the Lahave River, which became Fraser's home for close to 12 years. The society made the vessel available to for possible conversion to a museum ship, should funding be secured. The ship never opened as a museum, although guided tours were offered by appointment in 2003 and 2004. During that period, some groups such as the Sea Cadets, LaHave River Tourism Association, Atlantic Lighthouse Council, Bridgewater Fire Department, and Katimavik used the ship for events and the wardroom hosted meetings with visiting politicians. Former crew members and their families were rarely turned away. The ship was also used for some years as the site for the annual Canada Day fireworks display in Bridgewater. In 1997, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recognized the St. Laurent Class as being historically significant to Canadians and in 2000 installed a bronze plaque aboard HMCS Fraser which reads:

The Government of Nova Scotia and the Town of Bridgewater were taken to court by the ARSNS over Fraser being assessed for commercial property taxes. ARSNS fought this litigation in Supreme Court and then Appeals Court, arguing that vessels could not be assessed as commercial property. Although the society was legally successful in its argument, the court challenge caused significant financial hardship and resulted in the vessel's exterior paint deteriorating considerably in the absence of funding over this 12-year period. The vessel became an irritant to local residents whose waterfront properties faced the former warship and the "deplorable state" of the ship brought complaints from residents, municipal politicians, and naval veterans. The condition of Fraser became a local issue in the Nova Scotia's 2009 provincial election when signs appeared around Bridgewater criticizing ARSNS chair Rick Welsford who was running as a Liberal candidate for the neglect of the ship.

Purchase by Government of Canada
After a year of negotiations and a proposal made to the Department of National Defence by the Artificial Reef Society of Nova Scotia, Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay announced in a press release on 30 January 2009 that DND had reached an agreement with the ARSNS to re-purchase the ship and transfer ownership of the warship back to the federal government. The release stated that ""DND may sink her to create an artificial reef, or scrap her, or move her to preserve her for heritage purposes."

At the time, DND indicated that it would purchase the vessel from ARSNS by 1 June 2009. Rick Welsford, chairman of the Society, as well as being the ship's strongest supporter and a constant target of criticism relating to the vessel's appearance, stated in February 2009 that the ship could still be restored for less than the cost of scrapping.

On the morning of 21 July 2009, two MARCOM tugboats from CFB Halifax entered the Lahave River. While a Canadian Forces officer exchanged a cheque in the amount of $1.00 from the Government of Canada to the Artificial Reef Society of Nova Scotia, receiving a ceremonial key to the vessel, the 2 tugboats took Fraser in tow and returned her to Halifax Harbour in approximately 12 hours. Fraser was secured in the Bedford Basin pending further discussions over her fate; she was subsequently moved to the Shearwater Jetty.

Scrapping
On 27 August 2010, DND announced that Fraser would be sold to the Marine Recycling Corporation and towed to MRC's facility in Port Colborne, Ontario for scrapping; historic artifacts had been removed from the ship by DND and placed at the Maritime Command Museum at CFB Halifax. Later that day, ARSNS filed a lawsuit against DND in the Federal Court of Canada citing breach of contract. A clause in the December 2008 agreement between DND and ARSNS had stated that should DND decide to scrap the ship, the society would receive "first consideration" to present a proposal to turn it into an artificial reef and that DND must find the proposal acceptable. ARSNS stated that its claim exceeded $50,000 not including interest and court costs. As a result of the lawsuit, the Federal Court of Canada ordered that the former HMCS Fraser be arrested at its berth at Jetty Lima at HMC Dockyard Annex in Dartmouth. DND was given 30 days to file its defence.

On Wednesday, 1 September 2010 the Federal Court of Canada quashed the arrest warrant, allowing DND to move the ship, however, the towing operation which was originally scheduled to begin on 2 September was interrupted by the passage of Hurricane Earl. On the morning of Tuesday, 7 September 2010 the former HMCS Fraser was taken under tow by the civilian tug Tony MacKay and departed Halifax Harbour. Fraser arrived at her destination in Port Maitland, Ontario on the afternoon of 19 September 2010. The scrapping process should be complete as of March 2011. At that time HMCS Fraser will cease to exist.