The federal government is committing up to $3.5 million to repair one of Canada's oldest warships, HMCS Sackville.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Treasury Board president Scott Brison and Dartmouth–Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher announced Friday the funding will be given to the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust for "extensive repairs" to the ship.

A recent survey of the ship found some problems with the hull's integrity, but exactly what needs to be done will be determined once the hull is opened up in dry dock. The last time the ship was dry docked was about 10 years ago.

HMCS Sackville, tied up in front of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Robert Short/CBC)

The Defence Department estimates the latest repairs will add eight to 10 years to the ship's life.

The ship's commanding officer from 2003 to 2012, Cmdr. Wendall Brown, said repairs are likely to include replacing the steel hull that's thinning and corroding after 77 years of service.

The Canadian Naval Memorial Trust has been the guardian of the Sackville since 1983, and Brown, 77, now serves as the chair of the board of the trust.

'A precise manoeuvre'

Brown said in early February the plan is to move the ship "in a precise manoeuvre." A platform fitted with wooden blocks contoured to fit the hull will be lowered underneath the ship's bottom and then lifted out of the water.

It will then be moved along rails and wheeled into the submarine shed at the Halifax Dockyard.

Cdr Ret'd Wendall Brown chairs the board of the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, the guardian of HMCS Sackville. (Elizabeth Chiu/CBC)

Brown said the multimillion-dollar repair job is necessary to preserve the ship's history, and is owed to its sailors.

Tours and visits will be discontinued until repairs are finished sometime this summer.

Commissioned in 1941, the ship is the last of 123 corvettes that were built during the Second World War for Canada. It is one of Canada's oldest fighting warships. It was in active service for more than 40 years.

'It wasn't Love Boat'

The ship was built for a crew of 35, but the navy carried 66 or more people on board, who would keep watch 24/7 during the worst weather in the North Atlantic, "so it wasn't Love Boat," Brown said.

Last year, 25,000 people toured the vessel, including schoolchildren and the children and grandchildren of sailors.

"It's a very, very emotional visit for a lot of people as they get into the engine room and see the machinery there around the gun," he said.

The federal government transferred ownership of HMCS Sackville to the non-profit Canadian Naval Memorial Trust in 1983.

In 1988, the vessel was designated a National Historic Site of Canada to honour Canadian sailors who have died at sea.