"Are you afraid of heights?"

The boarding officer on the outer deck of HMCS Winnipeg has just asked me this question. I am visiting the ship and its crew while it patrols the Arabian Sea, hunting for al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban fighters on the run.

The question troubles me a little, as I'm about to board a small inflatable bound for a giant freighter en route to the Persian Gulf. A boarding team has been tasked to search the freighter and make sure there are no stowaways. I am going with them.

On the bridge, a communications officer speaks with the freighter's captain. "This is a coalition warship ... we would like to visit your ship to confirm your vessel is not being used by terrorists without your knowledge."

Permission is granted and we race across the choppy waters. Even though this is considered a low-threat interdiction, the Canadian sailors on the boarding team wear bulletproof vests and are heavily armed.

Team leader Lt. Terrence Cross says they have to be prepared for anything.

"I take every boarding very seriously," Cross says. "I'm prepared for the crew to not be telling the truth. I'm prepared just in case there is a terrorist group waiting to ambush us."

The freighter looked large from the deck of the Winnipeg and was massive once alongside. Now I understand the question. In order to get on board, we have to climb a 20 foot rope and wood ladder that dangles from its deck.

I watch the sailors scurry up the ladder and when it is my turn I go when told. I'm just glad the freighter wasn't bigger. Sometimes  free-climb 50-foot ladders with fraying ropes and missing rungs.

On board, Cross is already interviewing a rather disgruntled but cooperative captain. Photographs are taken of everyone on board. Crew manifests and passports are checked.

Cross says this way they keep track of everyone who is in the area. They even look for bullet wounds or other clues that might raise suspicions. 

The ship is thoroughly searched. We climb down narrow ladders to large murky cargo holds. Every cabin and corridor is checked.

Lt. Paul Lang tells me they look for mattresses in unusual locations, empty water balls, bread or food remains.

This freighter's cargo includes everything from food to metal piping to cars ... but there are no stowaways.

While vessels that are boarded usually fit some kind of suspect profile or fail to provide convincing answers during radio contact, most searches end as ours did. About two hours later, the freighter is cleared to carry on its course in the Gulf.

Some boardings can take much longer and conditions can be a lot worse. Canadian sailors have tracked thousands of ships ranging from supertankers to filthy wooden dhows crammed with live animals.

The Winnipeg and its sister ship HMCS Montreal are part of a Canadian-led multinational battle group screening these busy waters as part of Operation Enduring Freedom or the war or terrorism.

Since their arrival in the region 14 months ago, Canadian ships have hailed 12,000 vessels and conducted close to 300 boardings.

"The measure of our success or performance at this point in time is that we haven't found anybody, which is a clear indication that deterrence is working," says Winnipeg Capt. Kelly Williams.

"We are trying to shut down the back door escape corridor of al Qaeda and Taliban that have been trying to use the sea highways as an exit route out of Afghanistan and Pakistan to neighboring nations."

The captain and his crew know these waters well. The Winnipeg spent several months in the northern Persian Gulf in the summer of 2001 enforcing a United Nations embargo against Iraq.

"We were operating at a heightened state of alert for the entire period we were there," Williams said. "Our operations had us three to four minutes away from possible disaster if someone fired a missile at us ... it took its toll."

Williams and his crew arrived back in these waters just one year to the day of their last deployment -- a quick turnaround by naval standards.

This time the threat of war looms large in the Gulf. With the Winnipeg only half way through its tour, it's possible the ship and its crew will be asked to support a U.S.-led attack against Iraq.

Lang says he tries not to think about it.

"I think about what I have to do on the ship...if Canada decides we get involved, we get involved."

I watch as Lang and rest of the boarding team unload their weapons and remove their bullet-proof vests. We have barely been back on board the Winnipeg an hour, when there is a call to boarding stations. The team has to search another vessel. I stay behind -- it's a much bigger ship. 

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