NAC News – Edition 502
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of February 24th, 2023
Edition: 502 Quote: “The news cycle will move on, and the same challenges in the [U.S.-China] relationship will remain…Both leaders recognize the need to manage risk through direct, hard-nosed diplomacy.” 7 February 2023, Ryan Hass, The New York Times
Rod Hughes
Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (Comments welcome to help improve this service.)
Links to keep in touch with the NAC and RCN can be found at the bottom of this email. Contact Kevin Goheen executivedirector-nac@outlook.com if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Influencer or good candidates to become a NAC member, and note the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)
NOTICES
28 February 2023 ShipTech Forum 2023 8:00 – 18:00 (Ottawa time) The ShipTech Forum is a hybrid conference with virtual access too. Keynote Speakers: RAdm Bruce Baffer, USCG (Ret’d) Sr VP, Global Government Services, American Bureau of Shipping; Cmdre Jason Armstrong, MSM, CD, Director General Naval Force Development; and, RAdm Brian Santarpia, CD Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic/Joint Task Force Atlantic. To register visit vanguardcanada.com/shiptech-forum-registration/ All serving Naval & Public sector Personnel can register for Free! Discount for NAC members who wish to purchase a ticket, we will supply you with a discount code ($50 savings from regular rate). Discount of $175 for NAC members who wish to purchase a booth. One complimentary ticket for a NAC representative to attend (value of $425)
It’s Time to Recommission the UNTD Association with a New Name. At the November 2022 Annual General Meeting, UNTDA members voted unanimously to broaden Association membership to welcome both active and retired Naval Reservists of all ranks into full membership. The search for that new name is open to all current members and prospective new members. Submit your suggestions to NameQuest@UNTD.org until March 1, 2023, when they will be compiled and reviewed to determine a short list or top contender to be presented to the membership at the AGM in Victoria in May.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Ukraine war: UN condemns Russian invasion ahead of anniversary
Turkey Holds the Nordic Countries at Gunpoint: Implications for NATO
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CANADA
The Royal Canadian Naval Reserve Centennial (Editor – great RCN 3:32 min Vimeo video)
Canada’s military tracked Chinese surveillance in the Arctic
Multi-Purpose Vessel designed for Canada (Editor – Technical details Aker ARC 146)
Historic Hans Island agreement with Canada moves from Copenhagen to Greenland
CAF Story | Finding your true calling. (Editor – sailor tells his story in a 3:31 min video)
Centenarian, naval veteran becomes pilot for a day and War veteran, 102, fulfills dream of flying again
Politics, racism and colonialism: Awarding the Victoria Cross
Port of Montreal earmarks $335 million for sustainable development
Port of Vancouver Set for Big Boost in Container Handling Capacity
NAC Briefing Notes – The 46 (and quietly growing) NAC Briefing Notes explain key Canadian fundamental strategic maritime and naval issues. They establish a foundation of knowledge needed to discuss maritime and naval issues in Canada. Complementing these useful explanations are the Niobe Papers that cover certain topics in greater detail. Please help achieve the NAC’s prime goal to help educate Canadians about maritime and naval issues by sharing the BN’s with anyone that you think may need this knowledge.
Lookout: Volume 68, Issue 7, February 20, 2023
Trident: Volume 57, 4 Monday 20 February 2023 and Valentine’s visit to Camp Hill
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USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Feb. 21, 2023
The Navy’s Very Expensive Mistake (Editor – New York Times 24:17 min podcast)
Deep Intel on the F-35 (Editor – How did we ever think Canada should buy anything else!? A $1.2/1.3T [yep, trillion] programme explained in a fascinating 44:48 min video)
Navy’s Chief Shipbuilder Talks Readiness, Sustainment, and Workforce. (Editor – insightful 16:40 min USNI interview video) but it still an airplane and Pilot Error After ‘Sierra Hotel Break’ Resulted in South China Sea F-35C Crash, Investigation Says
US Navy Testing World’s Largest Unmanned Attack Submarine #shorts (Editor – 1 min video)
USS Farragut (DDG 99) Arrives in the 4th Fleet AOR
Navy and USCG Complete Recovery of Chinese Surveillance Balloon Debris
US Senator Murkowski cites need for faster icebreaker acquisition and improved Arctic communications
Boeing will close Super Hornet production line in 2025
Northrop Demonstrates Scaled-Down Electronic Attack System
‘We Didn’t Have the Ships’ to Send ‘Best Option’ to Help Earthquake Victims, Commandant Says
US still building vulnerable carriers in the hypersonic age
Naval Academy Building Renamed to Honor Former President Jimmy Carter
A new Navy ‘cyber’ rating is in the works
Crew-Optional USNS Apalachicola Delivers to the Navy, Ship’s Unmanned Future Unclear
U.S. Container Imports See Biggest Drop in Over a Decade
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INDO-PACIFIC
Technology drive Indo-Pacific arms race
U.S., Japan, South Korea Hold Ballistic Missile Defense Drills after North Korean Launches
US Navy chief ‘crying for funds’ by hyping China’s rapid shipbuilding capability
Announcing IMDEX Asia 2023 (Editor – 3:21 min video)
U.S. Marines, Japan Self Defense Force Kick Off Iron Fist Exercise in Western Pacific
China’s second aircraft carrier Shandong likely to have had close encounter with US ship: military experts and Chinese Naval Aviation to Allow Female, Non-Military College Pilots for the First Time
We Track All Activities in Indian Ocean; Expect to Have 170-175 Ships by 2035: Navy Chief and Russia delivers new MiG-29K fighter aircraft offer to India at Aero India 2023
USS Barry Departs 7th Fleet and Japan after Six Years of Forward-Deployed Service
Australia to deploy long-range aircraft to monitor North Korea sanctions evasion
Philippine Coast Guard Expands Patrols in Disputed Waters
How are Pakistan’s naval modernization plans coming along?
Indian Navy Chief Gives ‘On Spot’ Unit Citation to Navy Ship
China’s AG600 amphibious aircraft expected to enter market in 2025
New landing craft prototype being built in Western Australia
Silverstream fits its air lubrication system on 24K TEU MSC Irina
Wave of Megaships About to Hit the Water as Container Shipping Demand Falters
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Ukraine war: Russia must be defeated but not crushed, Macron says and How will the war in Ukraine end? and How Putin’s fate is tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine
How Canada helped Ukraine learn to stop fighting wars the Soviet way
Russia, Ukraine in Black Sea Stalemate a Year Into Russo-Ukraine Conflict
The Kremlin’s Grand Delusions – What the War in Ukraine Has Revealed About Putin’s Regime however What Russia’s economic resilience means for the war in Ukraine
Inside an ammo factory racing to replenish dwindling US & Nato stocks (Editor – lesson for all countries a 2:04 min video)
Bay Off Southern Greece Becomes Cog in Russia’s Oil Supply Chain
US Considering Sending Seized Iranian Weapons to Ukraine
Shipping industry urges UN to evacuate 300+ seafarers still trapped in Ukrainian ports
Romanian Gov’t Irked by Ukrainian Dredging on Danube Delta Canal
General:
Editor – this item just won’t go away How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline then US responds to Nord Stream sabotage allegations incongruously Russia Urges Sweden to Share Nord Stream Investigation Findings and a new wrinkle Russian Ship Caught Mapping North Sea Wind Farm
Russian Navy Desperate: NATO Closes Exit from Saint Petersburg! US Warships stand by in the Baltic! (Editor – thought-provoking perspective in a 8:57 min video)
New British nuclear submarine sails from yard for first time
Royal Navy F-35 pilot tells of ejecting seconds before crash
Royal Navy’s HMS Protector completes Antarctic science mission for 2023 season and Stunning image of HMS Protector shows why it’s a different colour to other Royal Navy ships
UK’s new experimental warship Patrick Blackett kicks off sea trials
This is Why Russia Cannot Build an Aircraft Carrier #shorts (Editor – 25 sec video) and Russia’s sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov leaves drydock
NATO stands up undersea infrastructure coordination cell and Britain orders new Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
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MIDDLE EAST
Iran Attacks Israeli-Owned Tanker in Arabian Sea then Israel’s Netanyahu blames Iran for strike on oil tanker
South Korea Takes Command of Multinational Counter-Piracy Taskforce
First Batch Of Naval Vessels Arrives In Abu Dhabi For NAVDEX 2023
Day 1 at NAVDEX 2023: ADSB, CMN Naval, Al Fattan, Al Seer Marine, UAE Navy (Editor – 11:08 min video) and
Naval Group’s Gowind Corvette at IDEX / NAVDEX 2023 (Editor – 5:46 min video) China Flaunts New Unmanned Vessel at NAVDEX 2023 continuing
NAVDEX 2023: K50 Gunship, Aksungur ASW UAV, Rafael Typhoon & NLOS, Chinese USV (Editor – 10:41 min video) plus
NAVDEX 2023: Fincantieri New Submarine, Black Scorpion Torpedo, Aselsan CIWS, PT PAL, CSSC (Editor 9:27 min video) then
INS Sumedha Visits Abu Dhabi to Participate in Idex and NAVDEX 23
US and UAE navies conclude first USV and AI integration exercise
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
UN Convenes Decisive “Final” Talks on High Seas Treaty
Joint naval exercise by South Africa, Russia, China kick off in Indian Ocean
Brazilian OPV Araguari Takes Part in Gulf of Guinea Exercise
Shipping Industry Grapples with Ways to Reduce Cargo Fires at Sea
The mysterious items washing up on beaches
RightShip: Half of maritime incidents in 2022 occurred in ports and terminals
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Blekinge class Submarine Sub Brief (Editor – 38:29 min vodeo)
Did She Just Miss The Turn? (Editor – Exxon Valdez grounding in a 8:03 min video)
The evolution of the carrier air wing in the Pacific from Pearl Harbour to Santa Cruz (Editor – 45:56 min video)
The Mariner’s Mirror: When Hitler Scrapped His Navy: Hitler and the Kriegsmarine (Editor – 39 min podcast)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
25 February 1955 For the first time women are allowed to become part of the permanent force in the RCN.
26 February 1949 When the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan was on a fuelling stop at Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, ninety Leading Seamen and below—constituting more than half the ship’s company—locked themselves in their messdecks and refused to come out until getting the captain to hear their grievances. This was one of three incidents that lead to a commission of inquiry and a report named the Mainguy Report.
27 February 1930 HMCS Thiepval a battle class armed trawler was ordered out on a life-saving patrol off Bamfield but is lost after striking an uncharted rock in Barkley Sound, BC. No casualties.
28 February 1945 – The Great Lakes freighter SS Soreldoc (Paterson Steamships Ltd, Fort William, Ontario) was pressed into wartime service in November 1940. She arrived in Demerara, British Guiana a month later. She would be steaming independently, and her cargo would be bauxite. She delivered Demerara bauxite to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (6 deliveries) and to Trinidad (12 deliveries), for onward shipping to North American aluminum smelters. On 19 December 1942, she departed Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) bound for Trinidad with a final delivery of bauxite, before steaming northbound for Canada. On 21 January 1943, the SS Soreldoc was sold to the US government, to be manned and operated by the US Army Transport Service. Two years later, on 28 February 1945, the SS Soreldoc was steaming from Swansea, Wales to Liverpool, in ballast, when she was struck port-side amidships by a torpedo fired by U-775 (Erich Taschenmacher). She sank immediately with no time to lower lifeboats. The master and fourteen American crew members were killed. The fourteen survivors were plucked from the water by a fishing boat and landed at Milford Haven, Wales.
28 February 1946 HMCS Cornwallis is paid off (taken out of service) and new recruit training begins to be conducted at local naval depots.
28 February 1991 Operation Desert Storm, the combat phase of the Persian Gulf War ends.
1 March 1928 HMC Ships Champlain and Vancouver are commissioned into the RCN, replacing HMC Ships Patriot and Patrician.
2 March 2011 HMCS Charlottetown heads for Libya to provide humanitarian assistance.
3 March 1921 HMC Submarines CH-14 and CH-15 are commissioned into the RCN. The submarines are H-Class ordered by the RN and built in the US. They did not see action during WWI and were eventually gifted to Canada. They were both scrapped and broken up in 1927.
3 March 1944 The Canadian built (Yarrow’s Ltd., Esquimalt, BC) but British crewed SS Fort McLeod departed Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) at 0900 (local) on 2 March 1944 and she was southbound for Durban, South Africa. The next day at 2135, she was zigzagging on mean course 203° and about 335 nm SW of Colombo, when the Japanese submarine I-162 fired a torpedo into the ship’s stern. The propeller and rudder were blown away by the explosion. The Master, 57 crewmembers, 5 naval gunners and 4 army gunners safely abandoned ship to the lifeboats. During the night, the survivors heard two further torpedo explosions and shell fire from the submarine causing the Fort McLeod to finally sink. The survivors were rescued by HM Trawler Sluna and HM Tug Integrity, and landed at Colombo on 8 March. The only casualty was “Frenchy” the ship’s black and white tomcat.
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – If you see any omissions or errors please inform me, and any more modern significant dates are also welcomed. The list draws primarily from the Directory of History and Heritage’s comprehensive “Significant Dates in Canadian Military History”, the now defunct “Canada Channel”, “Legion Magazine”, The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History Vol 1-3, NAC member Roger Litwiller’s excellent web site, encyclopedic guidance from NAC member Fraser McKee, the Uboat.net site, and anywhere else I can find credible information. For the merchant ship history, a special thanks to NAC member Bill Dziadyk for his able assistance and detailed work. The RCN lost 1,965 men and 24 ships during the War, most of them in the Atlantic. A comprehensive list of the staggering merchant losses – sunk, damaged, or lost – Canadian Merchant Ship Losses of the Second World War, 1939-1945 by Rob Fisher {Revised June 2001}, and for the loss of individual personnel RCN Ship Histories, Convoy Escort Movements, Casualty Lists 1939-1947)
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