naval affairs

NAC News – Edition 560

NAC News – Edition 560

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of April 12th, 2024

Edition: 560 Quote: “There are deep disagreements between Biden and Netanyahu and there is a clear change of policy…There are always politics at play, but these differences are not purely politically driven.” 26 March 2024, Natan Sachs, and “When there is no accountability and no consequences, what’s the incentive for the Israeli government not to do what it’s doing?” 5 April 2024, Shibley Telhami, both quotes are from 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

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”.

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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

Canada pledges billions in new defence spending, but doesn’t reach NATO’s 2% commitment with New defence spending will still leave Canada $6B to $7B short of NATO target, Blair says

Laura Kuenssberg: West facing ‘authoritarian’ alliance, says Nato chief

U.S. ‘unable to step up’ on Ukraine aid, leaving Canada to fill the gap, says Freeland

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CANADA

Canada-NATO | Former CAF commander says commitments are ‘sorely lacking’ (Editor – 6:48 min video)

Is Canada’s Military Prepared for a New Era? | The Agenda (Editor – 7:14 min video)

NATO at 75: Is Canada losing its grip on the world’s greatest military alliance?

Don’t count on us: Canada’s military unreadiness

Canada to look at new submarines, and Trudeau doesn’t rule out nuclear option

As AUKUS looks to collaborate with other allies, why is Canada not mentioned?

SPY-7 Radar On Japan’s Aegis System Equipped Vessel Achieves First Track Of Objects In Space (Editor – same radar as intended for the CSC)

Arctic sovereignty highlights federal multi-billion-dollar plan to upgrade Canada’s military

U.S. and Canada Sign Historic Agreement to Boost Vessel Traffic Services in the Great Lakes Region

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay on MAID being offered to veterans (Editor – CBC News 3:40 min video)

Kivalliq Region Welcomes HMCS William Hall for Affiliation Ceremony

Build Ferries BC: Action required for largest shipbuilding contract in B.C.

Preparations begin for coming wildfire season after last year’s strain on military resources

Electric Tug Fleet Launches at Port of Vancouver

Deltaport operator calls its emissions data a ‘trade secret

The 4 factors that have led to a ‘golden age’ of discovery for Great Lakes shipwrecks

Canadian Armed Forces FORCE Evaluation (Fitness test) (Editor – 36:34 min video)

NAC Children’s books are still available for sale

Lookout: 8 April 2024, Volume 69, Issue 14

NAC Niobe paper No.8  Sustainable Force Development – How Mistakes with the Littoral Combat Ship Threatened the US Navy’s Shipbuilding Strategy  (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)

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USA & AMERICAS

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April 8, 2024

Navy Sailors Loading & Launching Powerful Ship Borne Sea Sparrow Missiles (Editor – can’t watch too many missile firings 11:19 mi video)

US Navy tests ‘AI-enabled’ anti-ship missiles that hunt in packs (Editor – a 4:44 min video that expands upon the article mentioned last week.  OMG capability!)

Opinion – Without change, US Navy’s future fleet looks too ambitious for industry

Guyana Buys Military Patrol Vessel Triggering Rebuke From Venezuela

Integrating AQS-20 Sonar and Barracuda UUV: A New Era in Underwater Mine Neutralization

Royal Navy: Nearly £17m worth of drugs seized in Caribbean

U.S. Forces Take Down Narco Sub in Atlantic Ocean

Report to Congress on John Lewis Oiler Program

Metal Shark Unveils ‘Prowler’ Military USV and ‘Frenzy’ Micro-USV (Editor – 5:55 min video)

U.S. Coast Guard Takes 210-Foot Cutter Out of Service to Fill Manning Gaps

U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker ‘Polar Star’ Returns from 27th Antarctic Deployment

What a real chief engineer thinks happened to to Dali and why it hit the bridge (Editor – straight talk (starts slowly) 9:23 min video) with “To keep things moving, we’ve got to get creative. And we have.” (Editor – ABC news broadcast in a 3:49 min video)

Panama Canal Plans to Normalize by 2025, Weather Permitting

Conditions Ripe for Extremely Active Atlantic Hurricane Season in 2024

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INDO-PACIFIC

Nuclear Submarines, Aukus and Rebalancing the Indo-Pacific Security Environment (Editor – 7:04 min video) and AUKUS Partners Working Through Reality of Submarine Pact, Officials Say with AUKUS alliance agrees to increase number of SSN visits to Australia and to illustrate the point Fremantle’s wartime past serves as AUKUS submarine prologue

U.S. Coast Guard Says Boardings of Chinese Fishing Vessels in South Pacific Legal

U.S., Japanese and Australian Warships Join Philippine Forces in South China Sea Patrol

Australia lays first sea mines in nearly half a century

The UK Littoral Response Group (South) arrives in the Indo-Pacific

Chess Dynamics’ surveillance systems picked for Australia’s Hunter-class frigates

Japan to take part in AUKUS ‘Pillar 2’, America’s ambassador to Japan tells Wall Street Journal

Samoa Grants USCG Expanded Enforcement Powers in its EEZ

U.S. Set to Expand Naval Base in Papua New Guinea

Inside Gigantic Factory Assembling Massive Ship From Kit – Assembly Line (Editor – the scale is amazing 17:51 min video)

China’s EV Export Boom Fuels Surge in Demand for New Car-Carrying Ships

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EUROPE

Ukraine:

In A First, Ukraine Cites Damage To Russian Warship In Baltic Sea (Editor – I wasn’t sure where to place this article!  It contains a useful graphic listing the stunning accomplishments of a small but proud navy)

U.S. Transfers Seized Iranian Weapons to Ukraine

General:

France preparing for naval warfare, Rear-Admiral says

6 northern European nations sign a deal to protect North Sea infrastructure from hostile actors

The UK’s New Dreadnought Class Nuclear Submarines (Editor – 3:15 min video)

Princess Anne presents sailors with medals as she gets tour of Navy’s newest frigate

Germany orders two more F126 frigates from Damen

Russia’s Mysterious New Nuclear Torpedo: What We Know | WSJ Equipped (Editor – 6:11 min video)

Sanctions are about to wreck Moscow’s grand Arctic projects

Arctic weather satellite leaving Europe for June launch in U.S.

Greek Judge Refers Nine Egyptians To Trial Over Deadly Migrant Shipwreck

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MIDDLE EAST

Red Sea:

EU Red Sea navy mission commander hopes for more ships to repel Houthi attacks (Editor – I wonder how the EU, USN, and the various Combined Task Groups of the  Combined Maritime Forces share info and deconflict/optimize their resource allocation?)

Houthis Claim Fresh Attacks on Multiple Ships

Houthis Claim Ballistic Missile Attack on U.S.-Crewed Boxship

General:

Iran Says it Can Close the Strait of Hormuz, But Won’t For Now

CMF’s Combined Task Force 150 Seizes Nearly 400 Kilograms in Illegal Narcotics in the Arabian Sea

US and UK Forces Conducted a Bilateral Mine Countermeasure Exercise, Poseidon’s Chalice

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

The Ocean Cleanup’s System 03 Captures Record Amounts of Plastic From the Pacific (Editor – impressive but sadly much needed capability explained in a 8:53 min video)

Somali Piracy Resurgence Poses Increasing Threat To Maritime Security, IMB Says

What We Know (And Don’t Know) About the Ocean’s Soaring Surface Temps

A23a: Tracking the world’s biggest iceberg as it drifts towards oblivion

Ocean floor a ‘reservoir’ of plastic pollution, finds global study

Cruise Industry Sets New Passenger Record in 2023

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SCUTTLEBUTT

Emirates Team New Zealand has first outing of new AC75 -2024 (Editor – not the Flying Junior I learned to sail in! 4:46 min video)

HRH Prince Philip – ‘Just getting on with it’ under the White Ensign (Editor – his naval career in 53:59 min video)

A voyage through the history of the HMY Britannia

The RIDICULOUS Steam Submarine: The K-Class Failure (Editor – 27:59 min video)

Doesn’t The Navy Require Museum Ships To Remove the Propellers (Editor – 7:42 min video)

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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

14 April 1828  The 18-gun sloop Acorn missing presumed foundered off Halifax with the loss of 115 men.

14 April 1944  HMCS Swansea commanded by A/Cdr Clarence A. King, DSO, DSC, RCNR with HMS Pelican combined to sink the German submarine U-448 in the North Atlantic.  Swansea’s second kill in less than six weeks.

15 April 1814  Kingston Navy Dockyard launches two warships, the Prince Regent and the Princess Charlotte; under Commodore Sir James Yeo, they will blockade the American fleet in Sackett’s Harbour and capture Oswego, restoring Canadian control of Lake Ontario in the War of 1812 and ending the threat of US invasion. Kingston, Ontario

16 April 1945  German U-Boat U-190 torpedoes and sank the Bangor Class minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt 5 miles off Chebucto Head near the Halifax lightship; 44 of her ship’s company are lost in the last major naval loss of the War; U-190 will surrender May 11; will be sunk ceremonially on October 21, 1947 where she had destroyed the Esquimalt.

17 April 1944  A Canso from RCAF Squadron 162 sank U-342 southwest of Iceland.

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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