Jeff King mural (Nanaimo, British Columbia)

 mural  Add category

 Upload a photo

Operation Genesis: The Final Commission, 1997
by Nanaimo artist Jeff King (blastworks.ca)

This piece depicts the HMCS Saskatchewan in her final resting place, as an artificial reef just off of Snake Island near Departure Way. On June 14, 1997 the former Canadian Navy Vessel HMCS Saskatchewan (DDE-262) began her new career as an artificial reef east of Nanaimo off Snake Island.

HMCS Saskatchewan was a 366 ft, 2,800 ton Destroyer Escort that was launched February 1, 1961 in Victoria and was commissioned February 16, 1963. In her career she sailed 740,000 nautical miles, equivalent to 21 trips around the world and fired not a single shot in anger. HMCS Saskatchewan (DDH 262) was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. While serving out of Malta in May 1941, she was badly damaged by bombs that required six months to repair. In June of 1944 she helped to patrol the English Channel "as part of a barrier" to prevent U-boats from attacking the invasion route to the Normandy beaches. The destroyer was sold for scrap, in 1946 leaving three hard-won battle honours: Atlantic (1943-1944), Normandy (1944), and Biscay (1944).

In the words of Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau "this [project] will allow this noble vessel to not only continue in service, in her new career as an artificial reef, but provide an honourable legacy for a future generation".

Dedicated to Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the Cousteau Society for their ongoing commitment to education and the preservation and enhancement of the marine environment.