HMCS Yellowknife

There has been only one vessel named Yellowknife in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Yellowknife (706) / Kingston-class coastal defence vessel

In May 1992, a contract was let to Halifax Shipyards Ltd, Halifax, Nova Scotia, to build 12 Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV) of the Kingston Class. They were designed to commercial standards and intended to conduct coastal patrols, minesweeping, law enforcement, pollution surveillance and response as well as search and rescue duties. The ships can be fitted with modular payloads to carry out the assigned duties. 

Yellowknife was accepted by the navy on October 16, 1997, and left Halifax on January 30, 1998, for Esquimalt, British Columbia, where she was commissioned on April 18, later accompanying her sister-ship HMCS Whitehorse on a courtesy call at Skagway, Alaska. Crewed almost entirely by naval reservists, she has been kept busy over the years patrolling the waters off the west coast of Canada, serving as a training platform for junior officers, conducting fishery and sovereignty patrols as well as assisting in search and rescue missions.

She received a Canadian Forces Unit Commendation recognizing the ship’s performance in responding to the marine distress call of the fishing vessel Salmon King in October of 2001. Despite the constraints of time and the significant challenges of the sea, wind and dangerous obstructions, HMCS Yellowknife was able to tow the vessel to safety. In 2002, she and 3 of her sister ships deployed to Mexico and for the first time in 25 years, Canadian ships worked with the Mexican Navy. 

In August 2002, she observed a suspicious logging operation near Rivers Inlet and Hardy Inlet and transferred the information to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This later led to an arrest. In 2003, she participated in a Task Group Exercise alongside Canadian and French naval ships. HMCS Yellowknife continues to conduct operations in support of Canada’s domestic and international policies.

• Builder: Halifax Shipyards
• Date commissioned: April 18, 1998
• Displacement: 985.6 tonnes
• Dimensions: 55.3m x 11.3mx 3.4m
• Speed: 15 knots
• Crew: 37
• Armament: one 40 mm gun and two 12.7-mm machine guns (2 single mounts)

Motto:  “In Ardua Nitor” (I endeavour in difficulties)