HMCS Regina sails from B.C. to Gulf as tensions with Iran escalate

HMCS Regina sailed Tuesday from B.C. to replace HMCS Charlottetown in the Arabian Gulf at a time when the U.S. has been quietly moving additional naval forces into the volatile region to prevent any attempt by the Iranian military to block the Strait of Hormuz.

The buildup of U.S. forces near Iran was reported in the New York Times Tuesday. The move is part of a game of high-stakes brinksmanship involving Iran, the U.S. and Israel over Iran's nuclear program.

HMCS Charlottetown stays busy on Red Sea

HMCS Charlottetown has steamed more than 40,000 kilometres since it and its 250-member crew left a frosty Halifax last January to patrol the Red Sea.

The Halifax-class frigate covers three critical “choke points” in the region: the Suez Canal, the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz, the artery through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply flows.

More than 17 million barrels of crude passed through the Strait of Hormuz every day last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

HMCS Charlottetown sails for Mediterranean

A large crowd packed the Halifax waterfront Sunday to wave goodbye to their loved ones as HMCS Charlottetown departed for a mission in the Mediterranean Sea.

The navy frigate has a crew of about 250 and will be gone for seven months.

Commander Wade Carter told reporters the Charlottetown would be joining the NATO mission Operation Active Endeavor, known as Operation Metric in Canada.

It's a counter-terrorism mission in the sea that borders Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

"We're going to be patrolling the Mediterranean looking for weapons of mass destruction or constituents that could be used to design such things," Carter said Sunday.

That could include boarding vessels, but Carter does not anticipate a high level of risk for his crew.

"Most of the seafarers in that area are law-abiding," he said.