HMCS Saskatchewan
Destroyer Escort · Canada · Lost 1997 · The British Columbia Coast
British Columbia's most popular artificial reef: a retired Mackenzie-class destroyer scuttled off Snake Island near Nanaimo in 1997.
The Vessel and Her Loss
HMCS Saskatchewan, a Mackenzie-class destroyer built at Esquimalt and commissioned in 1963, served the Royal Canadian Navy for over three decades, including as a training platform in her final years, before decommissioning in 1994. In 1997 she was sold to the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia, stripped and prepared for diver safety, and scuttled off Snake Island near Nanaimo on June 14, 1997, watched by hundreds of onlookers. She has since become the most-dived artificial reef in British Columbia.
Vessel
- 1963
- DDE 262
- Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. / Yarrows Ltd.
- Esquimalt, British Columbia
- Steel
- 366 ft
- 42 ft
- 2880
- Steam turbine, twin screw
- Royal Canadian Navy / Canadian Forces
Loss
- June 14, 1997
- Intentional sinking
- Near Snake Island, off Departure Bay, Nanaimo, British Columbia
- Strait of Georgia
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 130 ft
- Rests upright with a slight list to port; a popular, heavily dived artificial reef
- Bow south, stern north, list of about 6 degrees to port
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 49.216° N 123.885° W
- Surveyed position
- Snake Island, Nanaimo, British Columbia
Coordinates published by Veterans Affairs Canada for the HMCS Saskatchewan Memorial Mural.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (92/100)
Royal Canadian Navy, official ship histories
Build history and service dates.
Scuttling date, location, and coordinates.
