Sailors march off Canadian destroyer ship Algonquin, as it retires after 41 years

ESQUIMALT, B.C. – Forty-one years of distinguished service have come to an end for a Royal Canadian Navy ship that’s been retired at a base on Vancouver Island.

The HMCS Algonguin received its last cheer at the Esquimalt navy base as sailors marched off for the last time and a band played “Sunset.”

Commander and vice-admiral Mark Norman says the Iroquois-class destroyer protected Canadian interests at home and around the world.

The warship was deployed to places that included the Gulf of Oman, and also helped mark the centennial of the Canadian navy in 2010.

It was built in Lauzon, Que., and commissioned in November 1973.

The ship sailed for the first half of its life with the Atlantic fleet before transferring to the Pacific in 1994.