HALIFAX - Three Canadian warships steamed out of Halifax harbour on Tuesday for an intense, four-week training exercise in the North Atlantic.
The destroyer Athabaskan, as well as the patrol frigates Toronto and St. John's, sailed one by one through the harbour under bright blue skies.
HMCS Preserver and HMCS Montreal are expected to meet up with the task force as the group travels south to train off Norfolk, Va., before heading to waters off Bermuda.
Navy Capt. David Hudock said the training exercises will mimic real-world situations.
''The scenarios will range from anti-piracy, narco-trafficking, doing some drug interdiction, pretending that we're going into rescue some Canadian civilians that are in a foreign land that we need to pull out,'' he said.
Piracy is an ongoing concern for the Canadian navy, particularly off the Horn of Africa where Somali pirates have been seizing ships, said Hudock.
Military aircraft and HMCS Corner Brook, a Victoria-class submarine, will also take part in the training exercises, as will vessels and aircraft from the U.S. navy.
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