naval affairs

NAC News – Edition 582 (MATSU)

NAC News – Edition 582 (MATSU)

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of September 13th, 2024

Edition: 582  MASTU  Quote: “We have been prioritizing China military decision-making, but Chinese organized crime and organized crime more broadly has not been a high priority in intelligence collection.  That needs to change.” 31 August 2024. Vanda Felbab-Brown, CNN

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 an NAC member, and note the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)

NOTICES

23-26 September Oceans Conference & Exposition 2024 Halifax Convention Centre, The OCEANS 2024 Halifax conference is for global maritime professionals to learn, innovate and lead in the protection and utilization of the world’s largest natural resource – our oceans.

31 Oct & 01 Nov 2024, Association of British Columbia Marine Industries (ABCMI) Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show, Vancouver Convention Centre.  Aimed at all businesses and organizations involved in BC’s industrial marine sector.   Includes the Thales Canada Supplier Engagement Event on Friday afternoon, 01 Nov, for businesses interested in learning about supply opportunities for their product and services relevant to the AJISS and MWAVE in-service support contracts.  Register

14 November 2024 (7:30-18:30 Ottawa time)  Super Early Bird Registration is open for the Vanguard Deep Blue Forum 2024 to be held at The National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa.  If you’re not able to attend in person, all speaker sessions will be live streamed, to permit virtual attendance.  FREE registration for all serving navy & government personnel.  Not Able to Attend in Person? – all speaker sessions will be live streamed, to allow for virtual attendance.  Sponsorship opportunities available:

For more information on sponsorship or registration, please contact: David Blondeau david@promotivemedia.ca at 905-841-7389

25 February 2025 ShipTech Forum 2025  Super Early Bird registration is open!, The National Arts Centre, Ottawa ON

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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

Starshell Summer 2024 Edition

World order ‘under threat not seen since Cold War’

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CANADA

A Day in Life of Canada’s Largest Billions $ Submarine in Middle of the Ocean (Editor – textual errors but a good look at subs in 15:16 min Fluctus video.  Last quarter is about HMCS Harry DeWolf)

No life like it: Navy kicks off recruiting drive in St. John’s

One of the military’s simplest procurement projects is being tied down by red tape (Editor – not naval but an indicator of the depth of dysfunctionality in procurement)

A Ghost Fleet for the RCN & Another ONSAF Overview (Editor – CGAI 43:57 min podcast.  Only first half is about the Ghost Fleet)

Canadian Maritime Industry Aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals

10 AM soup – a Canadian Navy tradition (Editor – 30 sec video)

Attention Military Families: Did you or a family member receive VAC disability benefits between 2003 and 2023?

Lookout: Volume 69, Issue 33, September 9, 2024

Le Lookout, volume 69, Numéro 33, 9 Septembre, 2024

NAC Naval Affairs Programme Bibliographies Halifax Class Frigates (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 & AMERICA

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Sept. 8, 2024

The 9/11 Boatlift: The Unsung Heroes of September 11, 2001 (Editor – with respect to the 24 Canadians lost, an amazing 11:57 min video) sadly 9/11’s long legacy: How the attack on the World Trade Center is still claiming lives

Japan’s Largest Warship Headed to California for F-35B Testing

The Extreme Technique Used by US Aircraft Carriers to Protect Each Other (Editor – 20:01 min video)

US Navy commissions San Antonio-class LPD USS Richard M. McCool Jr.

US Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy Set to Redeploy to Arctic Following Repairs

Argentina Accepts First Orion Patrol Aircraft From Norway

UK and USCG Seize $54M Worth of Drugs with Interdictions Including Narco Sub

How a sailor shortage is crippling ship maintenance at sea

The US Navy is about to launch a submarine built for a mixed-gender crew, the first of its kind

CIMSEC: Strategic military public affairs: Safeguarding U.S. naval supremacy through narrative control

U.S Navy Fires Warship Captain After Steering Issue Led To Dangerous Near-Miss In the Middle East

US Navy Chief Demoted After Installing Unauthorized Satellite Dish on Warship to Access Internet

Hurricane Francine Threatens Gulf Oil Production

Drought Shrivels The Mississippi River And Threatens To Disrupt US Food Exports

Second National Security Multi-Mission Vessel, ‘Patriot State’, Christened at Philly

The Fate of the ‘Most Famous Ship that Didn’t Sink’ Unclear, Plans for SS United States Stalled

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INDO-PACIFIC

INS Arighat Armed with 3,500km-Range Missiles, 70% Indigenous Content

Chinese, Russian Ships Sail Near Japan; Tokyo Protests Chinese Incursion into Territorial Waters part of China, Russia to hold joint exercise in Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk in September however China’s military prods southern Japan with eye on first island chain route: analysts

Amphibious assault ship joins Chinese aircraft carrier group in far seas exercise

Analysis: China’s advanced aircraft carrier Fujian begins sea trials a step toward naval power projection.

HMAS Sydney joins international effort to enforce sanctions against North Korea

UK and Mauritius Resume Talks Over Diego Garcia, a Key U.S. Naval Base

North Korean Leader Emphasizes Importance Of Strengthening Naval Power

A Timeline of the 2024 Sabina Shoal Standoff while China to ‘Crush’ Foreign Encroachment in South China Sea: Military Official

German Warships Aim to Secure Sea Lanes in Indo-Pacific while German warships’ Taiwan Straits transit ‘to cater to US’

Exercise Kakadu off to a snappy start in Darwin

China’s new stealth warship unveiled: possible laser weapon testing sparks speculation.

Scorpene Submarine is set to be equipped with strategically critical Air Independent Propulsion by 2026

Submarines & Fighter Jets: India Accelerates Massive Military Buildup with Indian Navy launches anti-submarine warfare vessels INS Malpe and INS Mulki at Cochin Shipyard

Defence Ministry clears Navy’s ₹2,500 Crore Plan for unmanned vessels with capabilities to attack submarines

Taiwan’s Hailong Unmanned submarine begins sea trials new high-resolution images released.

Learning from Canada’s N-sub experience

Time to review undersea cable law

PLA warships make technical stop at Vietnamese port

Pakistan Commissions PNS Babur Corvette And PNS Hunain OPV

China’s two largest shipbuilding companies plan to merge (Editor – “merger will create the world’s largest listed shipbuilding company”)

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EUROPE

Ukraine:

Ukraine’s allies are split on whether to allow their missiles to strike deep into Russia with  Putin threatens war with UK and US over Ukraine missile deal

Russian port of Novorossiysk targeted by maritime drones: latest updates.

Iranian missiles to Russia change Ukraine debate – Lammy (Editor – not naval but a development with significant implications)

Satellite images show Russian ship allegedly delivering Iranian ballistic missiles for Ukraine war.

Ukraine Accuses Russia of Missile Attack on Grain Ship in Black Sea

General:

Ceremony to mark transition to the new NATO Secretary General (Editor – 1 October)

Royal Navy and RAF shadow Russian ships and intercept Russian aircraft to protect UK national security

Russia’s Gazprom Sends Baltic LNG Through Arctic Avoiding Africa Detour and separately In Desperate Move Russia Sends First-Ever Conventional LNG Carrier Through Arctic

Russia accused of EU and Nato cyber-attacks (Editor – broad implications)

NATO forces drill defending Iceland from Russia

Netherlands Orders 2 Additional Frigates, 6 More Helicopters To ‘Prepare For The Worst’ and Netherlands and Naval Group sign industrial cooperation agreement for submarine program.

Admiral Moiseev launches massive Ocean-2024 strategic exercise with Norwegian Navy monitors Russian Baltic Fleet vessels near Norway amid ongoing Okean Exercise.

New anti-ship missile remains on track for 2026 delivery (Editor – RCAF Cyclone could find these useful)

REPMUS 24: World’s largest international maritime drone exercise kicks off in Portugal.

Royal Navy on path to resolve submarine maintenance capacity

Spanish Navy to acquire new multipurpose vessel for Fleet modernization.

India, France Conduct Varuna Naval Exercise In Mediterranean Sea

Frigate with new anti-ship missiles arrives in Scotland

Russia begins first scheduled overhaul of Yuri Dolgoruky submarine.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to deploy up to 340 vessels in new Gemini Cooperation

Le français Exail va fournir les systèmes de navigation des futurs patrouilleurs hauturiers de la Marine nationale

La France à la tête d’un groupe maritime permanent de l’OTAN

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MIDDLE EAST

Red Sea:

Risky Salvage of Houthi-hit Tanker Sounion to Restart This Week

UK Warns of Impostors Seeking Information from Vessels in the Red Sea

General:

USS Georgia Now in Middle East, Houthis Take Week-Long Pause on Ship Attacks

U.S, UK Sanction Russian Cargo Ships for Transporting Iranian Military Supplies

First Clear Images Of The Italian Submarines Being Built For Qatar

USAID Report on Gaza Pier Operation and an observation Gaza pier a big lesson for . . . . China

QatarEnergy adds six new huge LNG carriers to its historic fleet expansion program

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

The 12 elements of cold war 2.0

No human blame apportioned for 2023 Manthatisi deaths

IMO launches women in maritime survey

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SCUTTLEBUTT

100 years ago, HMS Hood was anchored in our hood. (Editor – 12:39 min podcast about the HMS Hood visit to Newfoundland)

USS Pampanito: A genuine WW II relic on Fisherman’s Wharf

Horatio Nelson & The Battle of Copenhagen 1801 (Editor – 17:16 min video)

The Battle of Plattsburg: An Anglo-Canadian Defeat in the War of 1812

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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

13/14 September 1942  500 km east of Newfoundland, German U-Boat U-91 torpedoes and sinks RCN River Class destroyer HMCS Ottawa (A/LCdr Clark Anderson Rutherford, RCN) in the North Atlantic, while escorting convoy ON-127; hit by two torpedoes, she blows up and sinks immediately; 113 of her ship’s company are lost, plus 6 RN seaman and 22 merchant seamen; there are 69 survivors; this included the CO, LCdr C.A. Rutherford, who had given his own life belt to a rating.

14 September 1940  The Ex-Servicemen’s General Assembly of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the two French islands located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland, announces its support for General Charles DeGaulle.  The British Foreign Office sends note to Ottawa, urging the Canadian government to support the movement.  Canadians decline to act, and the islands Vichy governor dissolves the veterans league.

15 September 1940  Single men aged between 21 and 24 are called up for WWII.

16 September 1910  The cruiser HMCS Niobe formerly of the Royal Navy becomes the second warship to join the Canadian Navy arriving at Halifax in October.

16 September 1939 – The first convoy of the war—designated HX-1—leaves Halifax for the United Kingdom.  Eighteen merchant ships are escorted by HMCS Saguenay and HMCS St. Laurent to a North Atlantic rendezvous with Royal Navy cruisers Berwick and York.  Subsequent convoys included all ships bound for the United Kingdom whose speed was between nine and fifteen knots, and unarmed vessels of over fifteen knots.  Other vessels, including all ships sailing to destinations outside Britain, were able to proceed independently for some months after the beginning of the war.  Soon, two convoys a week were sailing from Halifax.  By the end of 1939, some 410 ships in 14 HX convoys had crossed the Atlantic.  Escort work would remain the RCN’s chief responsibility for the duration of the war.

16 September 1942  The first of sixteen RCN corvettes sails for the Mediterranean Sea to take part in the North African landings (Operation Torch).

17 September 1904  Captain Joseph Bernier departs from Québec on the Canadian government steamship ‘Arctic’; given the command because of his interest in the Polar regions (he had devised a plan to reach the North Pole via the Bering Strait); will make 12 expeditions into polar seas in the next 20 years; he will spend the winter in Hudson Bay collecting Canadian customs duties from whalers and traders. Québec, Québec

18 September 1943  Commander (later Captain) Adelaide Sinclair became the first Canadian director of the WRCNS, an appointment she held until the service was disbanded.  Formerly a lecturer in political science at the University of Toronto, Sinclair went on after the war to prominent positions in public service.  From 1957 until retirement in 1967 she was deputy executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

19 September 1941  German U-74 torpedoed and sank the Flower Class corvette HMCS Lévis 200 km off Cape Farewell, Greenland; 18 lives are lost.  First corvette sunk in Second World War.

19 September 1943 A Liberator from RCAF Squadron 10 sank U-341 in the North Atlantic.

19 September 1969  During the reorganized of the Canadian Armed Forces a 50% cut in NATO Canadian manpower was made, and the retirement of RCN’s only aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure was directed.  Unification and the loss of HMCS Bonaventure was the one two punch that caused the demise of naval aviation.  This step was counterintuitive given that aviation is arguably the most significant enabling element of any modern military.  To this day Canada remains the only major nation without a dedicated naval air force, and the only G7 nation without the amazing versatility of some sort of large aviation ship.

20 September 1943  German U-boat U-305, using a new acoustic torpedo (GNAT), hit and sank RCN Town Class destroyer HMCS St. Croix, while she is escorting convoy ON.202, south of Iceland; 65 members of the ship’s company perish; five officers and 76 men are rescued by HMS Itchen, however, only two days later, the Itchen is also torpedoed by an enemy submarine; only one St. Croix sailor, Stoker W. Fisher, survives the two sinkings; one of the men lost was Surgeon Lt W. L. M. King, RCNVR, Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s nephew.

20 September 1917  Borden government passes the Military Voters Act and Wartime Elections Act, giving the vote to soldiers and sailors under 21, and serving women; wives, widows, mothers, and sisters of servicemen also get the vote; the first women ever to be able to vote in Canadian federal elections.

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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