The ships were designed to clear naval mines along the coast of France and in the English Channel.[3] French naval documents refer to the ships as chalutiers rather than dragueurs de mines, as the ships were designed to function as fishing trawlers after the war.[citation needed]
A contract for $2.5 million awarded to Canadian Car and Foundry to construct 12 minesweepers for the French government was reported in February 1918.[4] Built in what was then known as Fort William, Ontario,[5] half of the order was completed by early November 1918,[6] and the entire order was finished before the end of the year.[5]
Each vessel was 135 feet (41 m) long and rated at 321 gross register tonnage.[1][2] Their steel-framed wooden hulls were divided into four water-tight compartments. Each ship was fitted with twin screws and a single funnel, and had a top speed of about 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Two 100 mm (4 in) deck-mounted guns, with a range of about 20 kilometres (22,000 yd; 12 miles),[3] were located forward and aft.
In November 1918, three of the minesweepers—Inkerman, Cerisoles, and Sebastopol—encountered severe weather while attempting to cross Lake Superior; Sebastopol reached its destination, but the other two ships and their crews were lost; no wreckage of the ships has been located.[7]
A total of 12 Navarin-class minesweepers were built; their names, as listed below, were published in The Gazette of Montreal in November 1918.[8] Seven members of the class are known to have been lost; the fate of the other five members of the class is unclear.
