A Chilean navy ship is back for another extended stay in Canadian waters to carry the mantle for the departed HMCS Protecteur.

The venerable Protecteur, based out of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, was long the main supply ship for the Canadian navy’s West Coast fleet, but was sidelined in 2014 after an engine fire effectively ended its career. The fire followed a 2013 collision with destroyer HMCS Algonquin that damaged both vessels.

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Protecteur was decommissioned in a ceremony last year and was recently towed to Nova Scotia for demolition.

Enter the Almirante Montt, a hulking vessel significantly larger than Protecteur. It is a former United States Navy supply ship bought by Chile in 2009, and is 206 metres long to Protecteur’s 172 metres.

“It is about the biggest ship that we can fit into [Esquimalt] harbour,” said Navy Capt. David Mazur.

The ship was also here last July and August, carrying out operations and training exercises with HMCS Calgary and HMCS Vancouver.

Both the East Coast and West Coast are scheduled to have new supply ships — which replenish other vessels with necessities such as food, fuel and medical supplies while at sea — with the first to be completed by 2020. Plans are also in place to convert a commercial container ship into an interim navy supply ship.

“In the meantime, both coasts have gone out looking for allies that use similar technology and capacity that they can work with to maintain our skills,” Mazur said. “The East Coast has gone with Spain, for the most part, and then we’ve gone with the Chilean navy.”

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who was visiting CFB Esquimalt on Friday, said the government wants to fill the “capability gap” created by a lack of supply ships as quickly as possible.

“That’s one of the reasons we brought in the interim supply ship that we’re building, as well.”

Almirante Montt arrived April 5 after doing some training with HMCS Vancouver while en route from Chile, and will remain here until about June 20, Mazur said. The presence of the ship allows training to continue as needed, he said.

“Every time she sails, she’ll be carrying around 25 Canadian sailors,” he said. “One or two will be liaison staff and the remainder will actually be trained and certified to operate the gear on board.

“That’s important because it’s very similar gear to what was on the Protecteur and what the United States Navy uses.”

jwbell@timescolonist.com