Warship ordered to halt firing exercise
. . . the crew did not realise the frigate was in Maltese territorial waters
A Canadian warship on its way to join Nato counter-terrorism patrols was ordered by the AFM to halt an unannounced firing exercise in Maltese territorial waters.
On Thursday, at around 1.30 p.m., the Halifax-based frigate HMCS Charlottetown conducted an unauthorised routine firing exercise on the deck of the ship.
Without disclosing its name, the Nato warship had broadcast a message announcing a firing exercise more than eight nautical miles off the Dingli coastline, which is well within Maltese seas.
It declared a clearance of 5,000 feet and a radius of five nautical miles from its position, but the weapons calibres were not indicated.
A spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said the exercise was shut down by the Armed Forces of Malta.
The warship informed Malta that it had already fired some shots and apologised for the inconvenience.
Only then did the warship identify itself as having a Canadian call sign, the spokesman said.
A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Navy in Ottawa, Lt Mark Fifield, said the skipper of the Charlottetown did not realise his warship had crossed into Maltese waters.
The US Navy’s sixth Fleet headquarters in Naples was immediately informed about the incident.
The drill continued outside Maltese territorial waters at about 4.30 p.m. some 31 nautical miles northeast of Malta.
The Canadian media yesterday described the incident as a “small-arms firing exercise”, with a bemused Canadian CTV news report saying that sailors were firing 9mm pistols.
However, the clearance asked for is not normal for that sort of weapon and more akin to the range of larger calibres such as 22mm canon, sources told The Times.
The international convention stipulates that warships conducting firing drills are required to warn vessels in the area and the host nation.
The Charlottetown left Halifax on January 8 to join other Nato ships participating in Operation Active Endeavour, Nato’s counter-terrorism effort in the Mediterranean.
On board are approximately 250 sailors including a Sea King helicopter detachment.