NAC News – Edition 559
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of April 5th, 2024
Edition: 559 Quote: “As a feat of military seamanship the voyage of the Wolf was so singular as to justify Admiral Holzendorff’s claim it would never be repeated. Karl Nerger kept his ship at sea for 444 days and travelled more than 64,000 miles in one unbroken voyage, equivalent to nearly three circumnavigations of the earth, without pulling into any port. He traversed three of the four major oceans and evaded the combined navies of Britain, France, Japan, Australia, and the United States, while carry out a military mission that sank or damaged thirty ships, totalling more than 138,000 tons. When he returned to port, he had lost only a handful of crew and prisoners and had maintained extraordinary discipline on a ship at times with nearly 750 men, women, and children.” The Wolf, pg 293, Richard Guilliatt and Peter Hohnen, Free Press, 2010
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
1 May 2024 18:00 – 23:00 Battle of Atlantic Gala – The Naval Association of Canada (NAC) and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) will once again host the Battle of the Atlantic (BOA) Gala Dinner this year. This year we also acknowledge the 100th Anniversary of the RCAF. The event will take place at the Canadian War Museum, 1 Vimy Place, Ottawa. For full details.
1-3 May 2024 NIBC’s Maritime Arctic 2024 conference (Editor – agenda and speakers at this link), Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour, Victoria, BC. This international two-and-a-half-day conference will consist of informative presentations, interactive Q&A sessions, and panel discussions, bringing together key Canadian and international stakeholders in the maritime industry, environmental organizations, governmental transport authorities, coast guards, consultants, and technology providers. Social and professional networking opportunities will be embedded in the programme. NAC members are eligible for the “Affiliate” reduced rate. NAC-VI is helping sponsor this event.
03-05 May 2024 Canadian Naval Air Remembers (CANAR). Reunion to commemorate Canadian Naval Aviation. From 1914 until today. A memorial to involve all ranks, all services, civilians, and immediate family involved in shipborne/shore aviation roles. For details of events, memorial, accommodations and administration check the following links: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum and Shearwater Aviation Museum
14-16 May Mari-Tech 2024 St. John’s Convention Centre, St. John’s NFLD. Mari-Tech was created by the Canadian Institute of Marine Engineering (CIMarE) in 1976 and is the premier event for the marine engineering community in Canada. The conference has earned a respected position as a neutral, non-political event devoted to engaging the private sector, government, and academia. This year’s theme is “navigating sustainable marine transportation”.
________________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Finland’s eastern border to remain shut indefinitely, including boat harbours
CDS Announces Departmental Plan Spending Reductions
________________________________________________________________
CANADA
Canadian Navy OPV HMCS Max Bernays crosses Panama Strait
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed 75 years ago! (Editor – RCN 1:31 min video)
IMO Approves New Emission Control Areas in Canadian Arctic and Norwegian Sea
Could it happen here (Editor – how safe are the Halifax bridges)
Police operation at Montreal port leads to recovery of nearly 600 stolen vehicles
Meet the BC coast pilots guiding ships into Victoria Harbour – Capital Daily
Victoria set for another strong cruise season; Nanaimo welcoming first ships since 2019
NAC Children’s books are still available for sale (Editor – My new marketing expert gave me an improved sales pitch! “NAC has children’s books for sale. These books are a great way for children to learn about the navy and what it does. The illustrations are wonderful, and the stories are fun. And don’t forget to get a copy of the NAC graphic novel (“Hunter and Hunted: On Board a Canadian Corvette in the Battle of the Atlantic”) and learn all about what the RCN was doing in WWII.”)
Lookout: 2 April 2024, Volume 69, Issue 13
Trident: Monday 1 April 2024, Volume 58, Issue 7
Change in items to NAC Niobe papers Women in the RCN – Catherine St-Jacques [English translation] (Editor – Please share with anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what our naval affairs programme is all about – enlightening Canadians)
________________________________________________________________
USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April 1, 2024
Baltimore Bridge’s $2 Billion Rebuild Starts With Clearing the Ship with Crane Linked to CIA Soviet Sub Misson Now on Station at Key Bridge Collapse then Temporary Channel Opens Baltimore Harbor to Smaller Vessels interesting elements of the recovery Navy releases sonar images showing Dali resting on floor of Patapsco River (Editor – 2:44 min video) and last but not least the crew Baltimore bridge collapse: What will happen to the 21 sailors stranded on the Dali?
Lockheed Martin Conducts Historic LRASM Flight Test
Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Destroyer Programs
US Navy Review Exposes Major Shipbuilding Delays in Nine Key Programs with Constellation Frigate Delivery Delayed 3 Years, Says Navy
Pacific warships to call at friendly Latin American countries
US Navy’s LUSV program hits a milestone
The Genius Method US Found to Test its Future Billion $ Icebreakers (Editor – 18:40 min video)
HD Hyundai Heavy to build 4 warships for Peruvian Navy
U.S. Petroleum Product Exports Hit Record in 2023
Inbound Container Growth Pushing U.S. Ports to Their Limits, Shipping Veteran Says
________________________________________________________________
INDO-PACIFIC
Rethinking Australia’s wartime maritime trade
Chinese Warships, Russian Intelligence Ships Sailing Near Japanese Waters
South Korea’s third KSS-III submarine commissioned into service
The Chinese Navy: A New Goliath (Editor – quirky primer on the PLA(N) history in a 18:33 min video)
A Tour Inside China’s Massive Type 055 Destroyer (Editor – 12:20 min video, how can they always look brand-new?) and A Tour Inside China’s 70,000-Ton Aircraft Carrier Shandong (Editor – 15:58 min video)
Naval Group, PT PAL pen deal for Indonesia’s Scorpène evolved LiB submarines and more Indonesia bolsters naval power with submarine deal
________________________________________________________________
EUROPE
Ukraine:
Ukraine Is Winning the War’s Other Front
Russia’s neighbours urge Nato allies to bring back military service
General:
Denmark fires chief of defense, runs into more naval issues
10 reasons to be optimistic about the strength of the Royal Navy (Editor – note image, full body anti-flash suit?)
Heavy-Lift Vessel Delivers Sanctioned LNG Technology to Russian Arctic with Russia’s Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 Suspends Gas Liquefaction, Sources Say
Istanbul Naval Shipyard and Turkish Navy Future Programs (Editor – 4:42 min video)
________________________________________________________________
MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
U.S. Could Revoke Houthi Terrorist Label if Group Halts Attacks on Ships
Italy Takes Command of International Red Sea Task Force
General:
Latest maritime convoy sails toward Gaza with aid as concerns about hunger grow but Gaza Aid Ships Return to Cyprus After NGO Worker Deaths
Vessel Reports ‘Electronic Interference’ Incident in Persian Gulf
U.S. Sanctions Ships Linked to Iran’s Military Network
________________________________________________________________
GLOBAL INTERESTS
New association for maritime nuclear created
Global Arms Exports – Winners, losers & trends in the race to rearm (Editor – intriguing 1:05:40 hr video)
Deputy commander-in-chief of Russian Navy arrives at Massawa port in Eritrea with First warship in Russia’s recent history visits Eritrea — fleet
Russian Shipyard completes refit of Algerian Kilo class submarine Akram Pacha
India Rescues Iranian Fishing Vessel Hijacked By Pirates Off Somalia
Ship Recycling Plunges to Lowest Level in Decades
How A Container Ship Secures Containers – Design, Safety, Container Locating (Editor – cool graphics in educational 7:36 min video)
How An Oil Tanker Works And Designed (Editor – 8:16 min video)
________________________________________________________________
SCUTTLEBUTT
How a Cold War-Era Submarine Ended Up in This Ontario Town | ONsite (Editor – 11:33 min video)
Frederick ‘Johnnie’ Walker – Gladiator of the Convoys (Part 1 – 1896 to early 1942) (Editor – 51:02 min video)
On the Water: Old Ironsides Wins Battle against Time (Editor – 5:11 min video)
________________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
7 April 1941 The Canadian registered SS Portadoc (Paterson Steamships Ltd., Fort William, Ontario), was a coal-fired Great Lakes freighter. The ship was pressed into wartime service in May 1940. However, she would become a collier and she required modifications by a Sydney NS shipyard for safely storing and transporting coal. It was planned that the ship would then sail to and provide services to the coal “Bunker Depot” in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa. The SS Portadoc’s first (and only) wartime crossing was steaming independently on 25 February 1941 from St John NB (with a cargo of lumber) destined for Freetown Sierra Leone, via Halifax, and St. Lucia. The attack was about 225 nautical miles west of the destination Freetown. The submerged U-boat, at a range of only 270 meters, fired a single torpedo which slammed into the engine room. Even though the torpedo failed to detonate, the resulting flooding caused the ship’s bow to quickly rise up vertically. The ship would not sink because of the buoyant cargo. U-124 surfaced and shelled her with 5 rounds incendiary and 16 rounds explosive from the deck gun, followed by several shots close range with the anti-aircraft 2 cm MG C/30 gun. The master and 19 crew members had abandoned ship in two lifeboats and the U-boat provided them with water, after being questioned. The survivors made landfall six days later at Benty, French Guinea and were interned by the Vichy French authorities. One of the crew later died in captivity.
7 April 1948 RCN’s aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent commissioned to replace HMCS Warrior. Halifax, Nova Scotia
7 April 1991 HMCS Athabaskan, Terra Nova and Protecteur arrive home from Gulf War; ships left in early August; Huron leaves for the Gulf to help enforce the embargo against Iraq. Halifax, Nova Scotia
7 April 1995 HMCS Nipigon, HMCS Gatineau, and HMCS Onondaga supported Fisheries and Oceans and Coast Guard ships during a dispute with Spain over illegal overfishing of Greenland turbot on the Grand Banks.
8 April 1945 cruiser HMCS Uganda joins British Pacific Fleet. Hong Kong, China
9 April 1929 – Canadian Ambassador Vincent Massey protests against sinking of Canadian schooner I’m Alone; crew released; case of rum-runner to go to arbitration. Washington, DC
10 April 1836 Hudson’s Bay Company steamship Beaver arrives at Fort Vancouver and has her boilers and paddles connected; left London August 29, 1835 under the command of Captain David Home under sail alone; rounded Cape Horn and called at Juan Fernandez and Honolulu on route; SS Beaver will be used to service trading posts between the Columbia River and Russian America (Alaska); 1862 chartered by the Royal Navy to survey and chart the coast of the Colony of British Columbia. Portland, Oregon
11 April 1940 Burrard shipyards begin building corvettes and minesweepers for action in the Battle of the Atlantic.
11 April 1940 Together with the neighbouring North Van Ship Repair yard, and the Yarrows Ltd. yard in Esquimalt, which were eventually absorbed, Burrard built over 450 ships, including many warships built and refitted for the RN and RCN in the First and Second World Wars. Vancouver, BC
11 April 1962 The Government of Canada announces plans to build eight frigates and buy three submarines.
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.