Saskatchewan's hull and superstructure was launched by the Victoria Machinery Depot Company, and she was completed by Yarrow Limited in Esquimalt. She was commissioned on 16 February 1963 at Esquimalt, the second of the Mackenzie class to enter service. That first year was a busy one for Saskatchewan, with two transits of the Panama Canal, four Atlantic crossings and participation in a major NATO exercise.
Late in 1965 she was fitted with an eight-foot square bridge made of aluminum and glass, built atop her regular bridge as part of an investigation into improved ways of conning a ship. In February 1970 she returned to Atlantic command with the crew of Kootenay, relieving Nipigon as flagship of the NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic. Mike Young, her executive officer during this period, recalls a social gaffe when the pre-wetting system was inadvertently turned on during a quarterdeck cocktail party in St. John's! Saskatchewan came back to the west coast in 1973. She commenced her DELEX (Destroyer Life Extension) refit on 27 May 1985 and returned to service on 17 June 1986. That August she was part of a Canadian squadron visiting Australia for the Royal Australian Navy’s 75th birthday celebrations. In her final years she was a member of the Training Group Pacific which instructed 40 officer cadets at a time in the finer points of ship-handling, navigation, and marine and combat systems engineering. The ship completed a minor refit in 1990, including the installation of an environmentally safe black-water system designed to reduce ship-generated pollution. She was decommissioned on 28 March 1994. 
Click on the image to order a waterproof card from ReefSmartGuides
Dive the Saskatchewan
with Dirk de Keersmaecker. Click on the image.... 
Explore the Saskatchewan
with Gary Friesen. Click on the image.... |
In service
Supporting new life as a reef
Satellite sonar image of the Cape Breton and Saskatchewan (top) at Snake Island
A video on the Saskatchewan by Outdoor Adventure Canada
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C/O VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM 1905 OGDEN AVE VANCOUVER BC V6J 1A3 |
WHY DO WE MAKE ARTIFICIAL REEFS?
The diversity of marine life along BC's coastline is under increasing stress through overfishing, ecological damage, pollution, and loss of habitat. Artificial reefs in the form of large steel vessels address this issue by providing new habitat opportunities in areas without significant natural reef structures. Retired, surplus and derelict ships, stripped of all dangerous and polluting components, make ideal long term complex marine habitat. Steel hulled ships are stripped, recycled and repurposed into man-made reefs. Within a short time in the marine environment they come to support self-sustaining ecosystems comprised of a wide variety of fish and fauna. The structures eventually mimic natural reef settings with their growing marine populations. Artificial reefs are also enjoyed as a prime destination for eco-adventure scuba diver tourism. |
Please help the ARSBC continue its mission to create, monitor, and maintain artificial reefs in Canadian waters and beyond!
Donations of $25 or more will receive a tax-deductible charitable donation receipt. (Charitable Organization #139743397) |
