NAC News – Edition 546
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of January 5th, 2024
Edition: 546 Quote: “Putin is pretty confident that he can stoke up the culture wars here, there and everywhere. And just with a little bit of deft use of political influence operations and propaganda, he can keep things that are moving in his direction already, moving in his direction.” 21 December 2023, Fiona Hill, One Decision podcast
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
27 February 2024 7:30 – 18:00 Ottawa time, ShipTech Forum 2024. This year’s theme is “Pushing Fleets Beyond Designed Life”. NAC is an official supporter of the organizer VANGUARD, Canada’s leading trade media that serves the Canadian defence and security industries. Vanguard expects 300+ attendees and 12 exhibitors. As such there is a $50 discount for NAC members who wish to purchase a ticket and the promo code is STF24_NAC. All CAF, CCG, & government personnel can register for FREE. Not Able to Attend in Person: all speaker sessions will be live streamed, to allow for virtual attendance.
Editor – NAC is a member of the Conference of Defence Association, and their Institute (CDAI). Established in 1932, CDAI is an umbrella organization for 36 member associations who represent over 400,000 active and retired members of the CAF. CDAI has requested to know if any NAC members would like to get involved with either their youth mentorship programme, or to be a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and speak to the media on naval matters. NAC sees this as a first-rate opportunity to bringing naval affairs to the forefront. If you are interested in the youth mentorship programme please contact the NAC ED Kevin Goheen, and for the potential maritime SMEs contact either our President Bruce Belliveau or our Naval Affairs Director Tim Addison.
________________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Senior military leader: Canadians ‘overly comfortable’ as global security shifts (Editor – another wakeup call, but are Canadians listening?)
________________________________________________________________
CANADA
Year in Review 2023 (Editor – great images in an RCN 2:22 min video)
Canada pledges to work with U.S. over competing claims to Arctic sea floor
Top Ten Biggest Seaports In Canada (Editor – useful summary in a 27:22 min video)
Samsung Secures $1.5B Order for FLNG Barge (Editor – significant part of the plan)
LR Greenlights Canadian Ship Recycling Facility’s Standards Compliance
No takers for long-lost gold in sunken ship found off of B.C. coast
Universities Canada: Veterans Bursary Program
NAC Naval Affairs Programme Briefing Note #40 Naval Architecture
(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)
________________________________________________________________
USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 4, 2023
Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Heading Home After 8 Months, 2 Extensions
Venezuela responds with exercise to ‘threat’ British naval ship
Report to Congress on Columbia-class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program
ORCA XLUUV – Boeing has delivered the first one to the #USNavy ! (Editor – follow up from last week’s article in a 6:39 min video)
Why the Navy isn’t shooting down Houthi drones with lasers yet and Report to Congress on Navy Shipboard Lasers
Report to Congress on Next Generation Destroyer Program
5 Reasons the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships Were a Disaster
US Merchant Marine Series (Episode 1) – What is the Merchant Marine? (Editor – not a “news” item, but useful background in a 15:35 min video)
U.S. Became the World’s Biggest LNG Exporter in 2023
Saving the Panama Canal Will Take Years and Cost Billions
A massive wave submerged a California beach. Was it a rogue wave?
________________________________________________________________
INDO-PACIFIC
First Naval Officer Appointed as Chinese Defense Minister; Predecessor Still Missing
China’s aircraft carrier Fujian nearly complete, maiden voyage expected soon and State media shows off the Fujian – China’s brand new cutting-edge aircraft carrier
Philippine and US Navy Start High-Stakes Joint Maritime Drills Amid South China Sea Tensions and China Protests as U.S. Carrier Goes on Patrol With Philippine Navy
PLA conducts naval, air patrols in South China Sea amid US-Philippine provocations
ASEAN issues rare statement on recent tension in South China Sea
USNI News Interview: Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Adm. Ryo Sakai
Indian Navy Deploys Guided Missile Destroyers, Tankers And Drone To Combat Middle-Eastern Threats
Indian Navy Commissions Guided Missile Destroyer INS Imphal
Chinese military irked by Indian naval ship’s drills with Philippines navy
China urges Asia-Pacific to be on high alert as US plans to reclaim Tinian airfield | WION (Editor – 1:47 min video) Wikipedia North Field (Tinian)
Video: China Unveils its Fourth Research Icebreaker (Editor – includes a short video)
Japan Completes New SH-60L Naval Combat Helicopter Development (Editor – “a new engine transmission to improve flight performance, a new high-speed datalink, and new ASW systems such as a low-frequency dipping sonar and improved acoustic processing.”
Chinese Navy Continues to Fly the Red Flag in the South Pacific
INS Vikrant gets advanced upgrade: News Guidance Radar and Missiles installed
South Korea Approves Plan to Purchase New Maritime Helicopters from Overseas
TEDBF Prototype and Naval Tejas Development slated to be ready by 2026
Indonesian Navy Aims To Buy More Locally-Built Vessels In 2024
Bales of Cocaine Wash Ashore in New South Wales
‘World’s first’ 700 TEU pure battery-powered containerships are here
________________________________________________________________
EUROPE
Ukraine:
Turkey Blocks UK Minehunters From Black Sea
Russian Navy Retreats From Crimean Ports with Black Sea Fleet motorboat wipes out Ukrainian naval drone near Crimea
Ukraine Arms Sea Baby Drones With Rockets Or Missiles
Almost 2 years in, here’s where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stands (Editor – useful but gloomy summary)
Report: 19 Injured, 33 Missing in Strike on Russian Amphib (Editor – short videos included) with Russia is drastically underplaying the toll of its warship exploding, report suggests and a bonus The Second Victim Of Ukraine’s Missile Strike On That Russian Ammo Ship: A 70-Year-Old Minesweeper
CEPA: Turn Your Back on Ukraine and Set the World on Fire (Editor – not a maritime article but an issue of strategist consequence)
Ukraine Defies Russia With Large Exports Via Black Sea Corridor
General:
Russia Announces Retirement Of World’s Only Nuclear-Powered Battle Cruiser, Pyotr Veliky
Russia’s brand new warship heads to Arctic base
Turkish Government Green Lights Second Aircraft Carrier And 4 Additional I-Class Frigates
UK-Led JEF Task Force Conducts First Seabed Warfare Deployment
ULAQ Combat USV Proves Efficiency On The Field
Russia Claims New Record for Cargo on the Northern Sea Route and Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Forges Ahead Despite Sanction-Driven Shipbuilder Cancellations which this article explains SHI suspends construction of blocks for Zvezda’s Arctic LNG carriers
________________________________________________________________
MIDDLE EAST
12 Nations Threaten to Hold Houthis Accountable for Red Sea Attacks
Repercussions of Red Sea Turmoil Mount as Box Rates Jump 60% in One Week with Ship Traffic Through Suez Canal Down 20% Due to Houthi Attacks
US Navy helicopters destroy Houthi boats in Red Sea after attempted hijack with details Inside Story on How an MH-60 Sank Houthi Attack Boats (Editor – 7 min video)
Explosives-Laden Houthi Boat Detonates in Red Sea -US Navy
Report: Ships Make Novel Use of AIS to Ward Off Attacks by Houthis
Hijacked Galaxy Leader Owner Encouraged by Reports of Imminent Release of Crew
Maersk Halts Red Sea Voyages ‘Until Further Notice’ and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd Extends Red Sea Route Diversion
Iranian Navy Frigate Enters Red Sea As Tensions Escalate
Denmark to Send Frigate to Join US-Led Naval Operation in the Red Sea
India’s Snub to US Anti-Houthi Force? India not part of Any Multilateral Initiative on Red Sea, says MEA of note Lack of Anti-Drone Equipment on Warships pose Challenge while guarding waters
US Treasury Targets Houthi Money Networks Behind Maritime Threats in the Red Sea
Royal Navy delivers over 80 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza
USCG Cutters Seize $24.5M in Drugs as Part of Efforts in Gulf of Oman
________________________________________________________________
GLOBAL INTERESTS
2023 in review: A transformative year for shipping and maritime
Somali Pirates Hijack Fishing Boat in Fourth Attack This Month then Security Experts Report Fifth Dhow Hijacking off Somali Coast
Study: 75% of the World’s Fishing Activity is Invisible on AIS
Crew Kidnapped from Tanker in Ongoing Incident in the Gulf of Guinea
________________________________________________________________
SCUTTLEBUTT
Force Z Memorial Service – HMS Spey – Dec 23 (Editor – 2:19 min RN video) In remembrance of RCN RAdm Richard (Dick) Hugh Leir who survived the sink of HMCS Prince of Wales and his years as a Japanese POW.
The Mariner’s Mirror: Nelson and the Walrus (Editor – 15 min podcast, plus there are two short video’s below the podcast panel)
KMS Seydlitz/Weser – Guide 368 (Editor – some ships have strange lives 6:21 min video)
CIMSEC: Sea Control 488 – disaster at Honda Point with Robert Kolker (Editor – 26:05 min podcast)
Tu-95MSM Deeply modernized “Bear”. With warm tube sound. Takeoff from Zhukovsky. (Editor – 2:52 min takeoff video) and the US contemporary B-52 Is Upgrading To B-52J, Why United States Unwilling To Retire This Old Warhorse? (Editor – why these two plane are included?, well they both have maritime roles in surveillance and/or attack)
________________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
7 January 1941 A Special Committee of the Cabinet War Committee recommends that Japanese-Canadians not be allowed to volunteer for the armed services on the grounds that there is strong public opinion against them.
8 January 1944 HMCS Camrose commanded by A/LCDR L. Raymond Pavillard, RCNR, and HMS Bayntun sank the German submarine U-757 in the North Atlantic.
9 January 1945 HMCS Ehkoli, a former RCN patrol boat, is re-commissioned in the RCN as a survey vessel.
11 January 1957 HMCS Magnificent arrives in Port Said with the main body of the Canadian contribution in troops and materiel to the United Nations Emergency Force controlling the Israeli-Egyptian border.
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)
Keep in touch with the NAC
If you are receiving NAC News, consider friends joining NAC – Membership and Renewal plus NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/navalassn/
Twitter: @navalassn
Should you wish to donate or leave a memorial: NAC Endowment Fund
NAC reference to assist veterans and/or seniors is located at Veteran’s Corner
Keep in touch with the RCN
Facebook – RoyalCanadianNavy | MarineRoyaleCanadienne;
Twitter – @RoyalCanNavy | @MarineRoyaleCan;
LinkedIn – RoyalCanadianNavy-MarineRoyaleCanadienne
Instagram – RoyalCanNavy | MarineRoyaleCan;
Flickr – RoyalCanadianNavy-MarineRoyaleCanadienne
YouTube – RoyalCanadianNavy | MarineRoyaleCanadienne
Vimeo – RoyalCanadianNavy-MarineRoyaleCanadienne
|
You are receiving this email because you are associated with NAC and have been receiving NAC News. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe by emailing executivedirector-nac@outlook.com
Copyright © 2024 Naval Association of Canada, all rights reserved.