HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341)

HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) is a Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate.

Ottawa is the twelfth and final ship in the Halifax Class that were built as part of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the fourth vessel to carry the designation HMCS Ottawa. The first three were named for the Ottawa River. This ship is the first named for Canada's national capital the City of Ottawa. Ottawa was laid down on 29 April 1995 at Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John and launched on 31 May 1996. She was officially commissioned on 28 September 1996 and carries the hull classification symbol 341.

She is assigned to Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and is homeported at HMC Dockyard, CFB Esquimalt. The ships Sponsor is Honorary Captain Sonja Bata. At the time of her commissioning the Commanding Officer was Commander Gilles Goulet.

Service
Ottawa serves on MARPAC missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Pacific Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone.

Ottawa has also been deployed on missions throughout the Pacific and to the Indian Ocean; specifically the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on anti-terrorism operations.

On 6 June 2011, Ottawa began a four-and-a-half-month training deployment and goodwill tour in the Pacific which included port visits to Australia, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan. Ottawa participated with the Australian Navy and U.S. Seventh Fleet in the multi-lateral naval exercise Operation Talisman Saber 2011 between 11–26 July 2011. Ottawa subsequently operation in the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group Nine and participated in Fleet Week activities in San Diego, California, between 26–30 September 2011. Ottawa returned to its home base of Esquimalt, British Columbia, on 13 October 2011.

On Monday the 12th of December HMCS Ottawa welcomed a new Commanding Officer, Commander Scott Van Will. Following the holidays Ottawa started working up for the next year of activity. This began with directed workups and various training activities leading up to the larger RIMPAC sail in the summer. Training included new firefighting equipment use, Fleet Navigation Officer Training, and Air Detachment integration. There was also a stop in Port McNeill and Alert Bay to visit local schools.

The ship is scheduled to be joining the Iroquois class destroyer HMCS Algonquin, and the Victoria class submarine HMCS Victoria for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. RIMPAC 2012 will be taking place from 27 June to 3 August 2012. It is a biannual, multi-national maritime exercise held off the coast of Hawaii and is designed to improve interoperability and understanding between military forces from nations with an interest in the Pacific Rim, increasing stability in the region. Canada has participated in every RIMPAC exercise since its inception in 1971. RIMPAC 2012 will be the largest ever. The exercise involves forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In June 2013, the HMCS Ottawa received a new Commanding Officer, Commander Julian Barnard.

Lineage - Ottawa
First of Name HMCS Ottawa (H60) Destroyer, River Class Ex - HMS Crusader (H60) Commissioned 15 June 1938 Sunk 14 September 1942

Second of Name HMCS Ottawa (H31) Destroyer, River Class Ex - HMS Griffin; ex - HMCS Griffin Commissioned 7 April 1943 Paid off 12 October 1945

Third of Name HMCS Ottawa (DDH 229) Destroyer, St. Laurent Class Commissioned 10 November 1956 Paid off 24 May 1963 Recommissioned 28 October 1964 Paid off 31 July 1992

Fourth of Name This is the current ship with the name Ottawa