OTTAWA - A new coast guard vessel under construction in Halifax will be named in honour of Capt. Nichola Goddard, the first Canadian woman killed in combat.
The young officer died in Afghanistan in 2006.
Her name will be carried by one of nine, new mid-shore patrol vessels to be known as the Hero class. The first of the 43-metre ships is expected to enter service with the coast guard this year, with the last delivered by 2013.
In addition to Goddard, the ships carry the names of another soldier killed in Afghanistan, two members of the Canadian Coast Guard; a fisheries officer, two RCMP officers and two First World War soldiers.
They are:
Cpl. Mark Robert McLaren, of Peterborough, Ont., who was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2008.
Fisheries Officer Agapit LeBlanc, of Bouctouche, N.B., who was killed 1926 while investigating illegal fishing vessels. His murder remains unsolved.
Coast Guard Seaman Martin Charles, of Bamfield, B.C., who earned both the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery for his role in a 1976 rescue.
RCMP Cpl. Gordon Teather, who was awarded the Star of Courage for his rescue of two people from the hull of their capsized boat in 1981.
RCMP Const. J. L. Francois Carriere, who died in 1997 while conducting an underwater search of a suspected drug-smuggling ship.
Coast Guard Chief Officer Gregory Paul Peddle, of Spaniard's Bay, N.L., who died during a rescue attempt in 1989. Peddle was awarded the Star of Courage.
Last fall, the government announced that two of the vessels would be named for a pair of Victoria Cross winners from the First World War: Cpl. Joseph Kaebler and Pte. James Peter Robertson,
Five of the new patrol vessels will be used on fishery protection duty on both coasts. The others will be used for maritime security in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
