HMCS VANCOUVER (3rd)
Vancouver was floated up on 8 July 1989 and commissioned at Vancouver on 23 August 1993. In May-July 1994 she took part in Exercise Rimpac 94 off Hawaii before making courtesy visits to ports in Japan and South Korea. Westploy 95 saw her leave Esquimalt with Regina on 10 May for visits to several ports in Southeast Asia, Vancouver then making calls in Australia and New Zealand before returning home on 4 August. Early in 1995 she exercised with a US Carrier battle group, successfully launching a Sea Sparrow missile on the Pacific Firing Range off California. In the course of Westploy 97 she again visited several Southeast Asian ports, and while involved in Rimpac 98 made calls in Japan, China, Russia and South Korea. On 29 October 2001, Vancouver sailed from Esquimalt to become part of the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Battle Group, as part of the US-led coalition against terrorist forces in Afghanistan. The Battle Group arrived in Hong Kong on 29 November, and in the Arabian Gulf on 19 December 2001. Vancouver returned home to Esquimalt on 28 May 2002.