HMCS Assiniboine (DDH 234) was a St. Laurent-class destroyer

St. Laurent class destroyer

The St. Laurent class destroyer was a class of destroyers that served the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s....

 that served in the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

 and later the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 from 1956-1988.

She was commissioned into the RCN on 16 August 1956 and initially carried the pennant number

Pennant number

In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...

 DDE 234 as a destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

. She underwent conversion to a destroyer helicopter escort (DDH) in the early 1960s and was officially reclassed with pennant DDH 234 on 28 June 1963.

In 1974, the Assiniboine was anchored in Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 as part of the NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic, with crew ashore, when the Carnation Revolution

Carnation Revolution

The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...

 occurred. The tension and confusion of the situation saw the vessel recall her crew and leave the area.

Assiniboine was selected by the Canadian Forces for the Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) program and completed this refit on 16 November 1979.

She was decommissioned from active service in the CF on 14 December 1988 and was used as a harbour training ship at CFB Halifax

CFB Halifax

Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....

 beginning in 1989.

She was sold for scrap in 1995 and sank in the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

while under tow.