NAC News – Edition 531
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of September 22nd, 2023
Edition: K531 HMCS Stone Town (WWII River Class frigate)
Quote: “From its home port here in the city of Quebec, the medium interim icebreaker CCGS Vincent Massey will play a vital role in ensuring that eastern Canada and Arctic waters continue to be safe and accessible. This vessel’s dedication into service marks a milestone for the National Shipbuilding Strategy and the members of the Canadian Coast Guard who will sail on board the icebreaker.” 11 September 2023. The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, MP for Québec and Minister of Public Services and Procurement
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
It’s that time of year again for nominations for the Admirals’ Medal! Responsibility for the Admirals’ Medal Foundation was transferred from the RCN to the Naval Association in 2021. NAC Naval Affairs is now responsible for ensuring that the Medal is awarded on an annual basis through a proper solicitation – nomination – selection – award process. To that end, a committee of Flag/Senior officers has been stood up to carry out the review and selection process. Nomination instructions.
29 Sept 2023 HMCS Donnacona invites you to their Centennial “Gala-at-Sea”. 1800 for 19:00 Grand Quai 200 De la Commune St W, Montreal, QC, H2Y 4B2. Tickets $160, dress Mess Kit/Black Tie. (Editor – I’ve received no reply about another way beyond Google Docs at the link to register)
17/18 October 2023 ABCMI’s Annual Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show – Vancouver Conference Centre ABCMI’s Annual Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show. See the website for developing Event Details including Exhibitor Spaces and Sponsorship Opportunities.
2 November 2023 The Deep Blue Forum 2023. Registration. The $50 ticket discount code for NAC members is DB23_NAC. All serving navy & government personnel can register for FREE. Venue – The Westin Ottawa, 11 Colonel By Drive. Not Able to Attend in Person? All speaker sessions will be live streamed, to allow for virtual attendance.
13 November 2023 0900-1600 hrs Vancouver BC Day Sail event on warship for women and girls
6 December 2023 7:30 am – 6:30 pm Ottawa time. Industrial Participation Association of Canada (IPAC) announced their first ever Industrial Participation Conference, titled The Changing Landscape of Industrial Participation in Canadian Federal Procurements Conference to be held at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa. Registration is free for public sector!
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
NAC-O 12 Sept 2023 Speaker Evening: Canadian Sea Power in the Wake of Changing Geopolitics (Editor – if you missed it live, here is the recorded of a first-rate presentation by Professor Rob Huebert in a 54:41 min video)
Canada – MQ-9B integrated systems through Team SkyGuardian that will produce this Arctic Security: How GA-ASI Is Closing the Gap With MQ-9B
Ukraine war: Russian ‘evil cannot be trusted’, Zelensky tells UN (Editor – UN videos included) and How Norway outstrips US on Ukraine spending
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CANADA
Canadian frigate AEGIS capability to be tested at US site
Operation NANOOK 2023 successfully concluded in Canada’s Arctic
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Currently Recruiting
Operation PROJECTION Designated Special Duty Operation
The Canadian Coast Guard celebrates the dedication of the CCGS Vincent Massey
Canadian Officer Embarks on French Navy Ship
The promise of a free and open Atlantic
Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CDR article): tkMS-C is asking Canada to consider the 212CD submarine for CPSP
IMO Number Proves AOPS are NOT Warships (Editor – I’m not sure why this flawed viewpoint continues, IMO number or not, the DeWolf Class has proven themselves to be capable and worthy ships that deserve to be called and respected as warships, just as we respect those that serve in them. In addition – AOPS, TRUMP, CPF, and MCDV are not proper ship class names, they were project names that have long expired. The class of ship traditionally adopts the name of the first of class.)
Saying sorry to Japanese Canadians (Editor – on government order the RCN’s Fishermen’s Reserve confiscated over a thousand fishing boats and gathered them at Steveston, near Vancouver. As with other confiscated property, these boats were subsequently sold for far less than their true value.)
Canadian military relaxes rules to try and increase recruits (Editor – CBC News 2:10 min video)
DND guilty of ‘gross mismanagement,’ breaching ethics law: report (Editor – 10:14 min video)
DND increasingly claims records requested by public don’t exist, but critics have their doubts
Canada’s Mega Pipeline Promises to Redraw Global Oil Flows
The Mackenzie River is a lot lower than normal. Those who rely on it wonder if it’s an anomaly
Lookout: 18 September 2023 Volume 68, Issue 18
Trident: 18 September 2023 Volume 57, Issue 19
NAC Naval Affairs Programme Briefing Note #26 Joint Support Ship (Editor – please share to anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what our naval affairs programme is all about – educating Canadians)
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USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Sept. 18, 2023
U.S. Revives Cold War Submarine Spy Program to Counter China
HMS Prince of Wales welcomed into Florida naval station for the first time
Keel laid for US Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Fallujah (Editor – America-class)
U.S. Navy On Track to Miss Recruitment Goal by 7,000 Sailors
Report to Congress on Virginia Submarines, AUKUS Proposal
VIDEO: Navy Commissions LCS USS Marinette, 4 Freedom-Class to Decommission This Year
Brazilian Navy Makes Largest Cocaine Seizure in National Waters
USS San Jacinto (CG-56) Decommissions, Honoring 35 Years of Service
USN plans for three new submarines could be held up by budget drama
Franchetti: Columbia Program Meeting Contracted Delivery Schedule
US Coast Guard Cutter Thetis nabs $70 million in illegal narcotics during 55-day patrol
HMS Dauntless seizes cocaine in the Caribbean using Sampson radar
Saildrones set sail in support of US 4th Fleet’s Operation Windward Stack
Expedition Cruise Ship Pulled Free in Greenland plus an option Sustainability and ROI Come Together With Forward Looking Navigation Sonar
Crowley to Develop Nuclear Power Plant Ship Concept
Autonomous Drones to Survey Floating Offshore Wind Site Off California
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INDO-PACIFIC
Chinese Expansion Prompts Other Navies to Work Closer Together, Modernize Fleets
Japan Tells China to Remove Buoy From Tokyo’s EEZ
PLA holds drills in Yellow Sea days after US and allies flex muscles near northeast China coast
PLA conducts blitz drill led by aircraft carrier Shandong around Taiwan island
As Canada’s navy arrives in Japan, Tokyo begins largest military buildup since Second World War
To Offset US and China, ASEAN Holds First Members-Only Naval Drill
Hanwha Ocean offers variant of KSS-III submarine for Philippine Navy’s requirements
Two U.S. Navy Drone Boats Make Unannounced Appearance in Japan
Australia Will Invest $1B to Increase Maritime Surveillance Capabilities
Australia Signs $210 Million Underwater Tracking Contract (Editor – modern navies must have access to range facilities for a myriad of reasons)
Labor scraps controversial drone deal Peter Dutton oversaw in government
New Zealand seeks new ships to replace ‘majority’ of naval fleet
Babcock and HII join hands to support AUKUS nuclear submarine program and Aussies to pour $3B into US nuke boat yards, long-lead items for AUKUS subs
India to Take on Future U.S. Navy Ship Maintenance Per Agreement
Naval Group establishes Repair Facility for Kalvari Class Submarines
Philippines Finds Massive Coral Reef Damage From Chinese Harvesting
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Ukraine’s Attack on Sevastopol Also Targeted Important Ships Crossing Black Sea with Submarine Rostov on Don suffers critical damage: new photos reveal extent of September 13 attack then finally Russian Submarine Hit by Missile, Rostov-On-Don, Gone
Ukraine Situation Report: Rumors Swirl Of New Attacks On Black Sea Fleet which might be Ukraine Claims to Have Hit a Rare Russian Super-Ship
Video: Ukraine Claims Strike on Russian Navy Command Center in Crimea
Highly technical and highly dangerous: Inside Ukraine’s drone war | ABCNL (Editor – 10:14 min ABC News video)
How Ukraine Hit Russian Forces Deep Inside Crimea (Editor – analysis of amphib attack in a 17:17 min video. I never know how much credence to place on these videos)
Romania Investigating if Cargo Ship Anchored Offshore was Damaged by Mine
Fifth Bulker Breaks Out of Odesa After Being Trapped for 18 Months and First Grain Ship Departs Ukraine Challenging Russian Efforts to End Exports yet here’s a Russian spin Black Sea sealed off for Ukraine — former presidential advisor
Russian invasion of Ukraine | How Putin lost in 10 days (Editor – useful summary in a 12:34 min video)
Operation UNIFIER (Editor – good summary of CAF participation in UK, Poland, and Latvia)
The Economics of Artillery Shells in the Russo-Ukrainian War (Editor – not a maritime article but a good explanation of an important part of the war in a 18:08 min vodeo)
U.S. Takes Aim at Arctic LNG 2 in Latest Round of Sanctions
Russia superyacht symbolises challenge of seizing assets
General:
BAE, Cellula Robotics partner on underwater drone, with test next year (Editor – Cellula Robotics is a Canadian company) and USN report on Report on Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles
‘Eyes of the Fleet’ join HMS Queen Elizabeth for autumn deployment
The World’s Largest Aircraft Carrier Docked In Trieste
Russia’s Pacific Fleet rehearses hunt for enemy submarines in Bering Sea
Germany Offers Strategic Baltic Sea Base to NATO for Enhanced Regional Security
Norwegians fear radiation as Russia prolongs test-window for Burevestnik missile
Spanish Cabinet Approves €2 Billion Purchase of C-295 MPAs, Laser Pods and More
Photo essay: RFA Proteus puts to sea for the first time since conversion (Editor – see “Tumult in the Deep” below in Global section)
France’s Naval Group Starts XLUUV Qualification Trials (Editor – 7:53 min video included)
CIMSEC: Sea Control 463 – EU maritime security with Giovanni Cremonini (Editor – 32:59 min podcast)
UK: Keel laid for HMS Active, second Type 31 frigate (Editor – she will be the 12th HMS Active so named!)
U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Danish Defense Forces Train on SM-6 Missile Launcher Together
Germany, Norway Begin Construction of Identical Submarines
Navantia’s AIP Successfully Performs Factory Acceptance Tests
Gazprom Ships its First Cargo of LNG to China Via Arctic Waters
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MIDDLE EAST
Iran Seizes Two Foreign Ships Accused of Fuel Smuggling
Inside the U.S. Navy’s Cutting-Edge Drone Boat Tech (Editor – 8:30 min video)
French-Led Combined Task Force 150 seized more illegal narcotics in the Arabian Sea
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
3 South Africa Navy Personnel Die After They Are Swept Off a Submarine Deck During Supply Operation
CIMSEC: tumult in the deep: the unfolding maritime competition over undersea infrastructure
IUMI: “Dark Fleet” Tankers Pose New Risk for Marine Insurers
Royal Navy Warship HMS Trent strengthens maritime security partnership with Nigeria
Spanish OPV Tornado Deploys to Gulf of Guinea
USNI Proceedings Article: Oceans—Plastics Threaten the World Ocean (Editor – 6:57 min video)
Ghana Commissions Two Donated USCG Cutters to Fight Piracy, Illegal Fishing
A New Mining Ship Sucks Metals Off The Seafloor. Is That A Good Idea? | Big Business (Editor – 13:42 min video)
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SCUTTLEBUTT
The Spinnaker Project (Editor – Given the situation today’s situation, what could have been. Note AUV Theseus today, includes a “cool” historic video)
Antarctic sea-ice at ‘mind-blowing’ low alarms experts
Video: Deep Sea Survey Documents Aircraft Carriers Sunk in Battle of Midway (Editor – includes an amazing detailed 10:27 min video)
HMS Furious or HMS Argus – Which Was the First Aircraft Carrier? (Editor – 6:48 min video)
From Deadly Aircraft Carrier to Toxic Warfare Behemoth (Editor – 10:31 min video)
What happened to the USS Arizona? (Pearl Harbor) (Editor – great graphics in a 14:40 min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
23 September 1940 The second group of eight “overage” USN destroyers to be turned over to the RN in exchange for bases in the Western Hemisphere are transferred to RN crews at Halifax, Nova Scotia. USS Abbot (DD-184), commissioned as HMS Charlestown (I-21), USS Foote (DD-169), commissioned as HMS Roxborough (I-07), USS Hopewell (DD-181), commissioned as HMS Bath (I-17), and USS Doran (DD-185), commissioned as HMS St Marys ( I-12), USS Maddox (DD-168), commissioned as HMS Georgetown (I-40), USS Thomas (DD-182), commissioned as HMS St Albans (I-15), and USS Kalk (DD-170), commissioned as HMCS Hamilton (I-24), as part of the destroyers-for-bases deal.
24 September 1940 The third group of 6 overage USN destroyers exchanged for bases in the Western Hemisphere are turned over to the RCN at Halifax, Nova Scotia. USS Bancroft (DD-256), commissioned as HMCS St Francis (I-93) USS McCook (DD-252), commissioned as HMCS St Croix (I-81), and USS Haraden (DD-183), commissioned as HMCS Columbia (I-49), part of the destroyers-for-bases deal.
24 September 1941 Canada joins eight other allied governments in pledging support to the Atlantic Charter, an eight-point declaration issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
24 September 1955 HMCS Sioux returns to Esquimalt, the last ship of the RCN to return from the Korean conflict.
24 September 1965 RCN commissions HMCS Ojibwa, first of three 2000-ton RCN Oberon class submarines. Chatham, England
25 September 1940 Canadian armed merchantman Prince Robert captures German ship Weser off Mexican coast. The German freighter is taken into the Canadian merchant service, renamed SS Vancouver Island.
26 September 1940 USS Thatcher (DD-162), commissioned as HMCS Niagara (I-57), part of the destroyers-for-bases deal.
27 September 1854 Steamship Arctic sinks off Cape Race, Newfoundland with 300 people on board after colliding with the 250-ton French iron propeller ship S.S. Vesta; the 3,000-ton side-wheeler was the largest and most splendid ship of the Collins Line (United States Mail Steamship Company) in competition with Samuel Cunard’s Royal Mail Steam Packet Company; casualties include 92 of her 153 officers and men, and all the women and children on board, including the wife, the only daughter, and the youngest son of shipowner E. K. Collins; first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean liner.
27 September 1954 HMCS Labrador was the first naval ship and the first deep draught vessel of any kind to traverse the North-West Passage.
27 September 1994 US Navy closes Argentia submarine detection base; last US military base in Canada.
29 September 1940 USS Mackenzie (DD-175), commissioned as HMCS Annapolis (I-04), and USS Williams (DD-108), commissioned as HMCS St Clair (I-65), part of the destroyers-for-bases deal.
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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