NAC News – Edition 593 (Merrickville)
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of November 29th, 2024
Edition: YTL593 Merrickville Quotes: “In China’s system, Xi is in effect both pope and emperor—responsible for ruling, as well as promulgating ideological justifications that read like an obscurantist theological treatise from the Middle Ages.” 21 November 2024, Jonathan Czin, The Economist
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@navalassoc.ca if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Influencer, or good candidates to become an NAC member – note the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)
NOTICES
25 February 2025 ShipTech Forum 2025 Super Early Bird registration is open! The National Arts Centre, Ottawa ON. Not Able to Attend in Person? All speaker sessions will be live streamed to allow for virtual attendance.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Canada vows to increase defence spending at Halifax International Security Summit (Editor – 5:26 min video)
Foreign research vessels “gathering intelligence” in Arctic: Canada’s defence chief
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CANADA
NATO Maritime Deterrence in the Mediterranean (Editor – CGAI talks with Commodore Matthew Coates about the deployment of HMCS Charlottetown in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of a NATO Task Force during a 29:08 min podcast)
Defence Team News | 27 November 2024 (Editor – CO Vancouver on missile reload in a 1:46 min video)
First MQ-9B drones for Canada enter production
Patlon gets $30M contract to support Royal Canadian Navy’s River-class destroyers (Editor – “Patlon is a great example of the huge economic spinoff that is generated by the NSS.”) plus Seaspan ULC has been Selected as One of Canada’s Top 100 Employers
Déclaration commune de la Cheffe d’état-major de la Défense et de l’ombud de la Défense nationale et des Forces armées canadiennes & Joint Statement from the Chief of the Defence Staff and Office of the National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Ombud
(Editor – given Elon Musk’s recent comments Elon Musk says human-piloted fighter jets like the F-35 are obsolete. Drone tech can’t yet fill the gap. for perspective Is the F-35 Finally Living Up to Its Promise? a 11:00 min video)
Naval Security Team of the Royal Canadian Navy and their Defender boats & equipment | Go Bold S3 Ep1 (Editor – 49:34 min video)
RUSI: Thoughts on New Vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy
Sending Deployed Military Personnel Care Packages During Strike
Michael Higgins: Navy brass need to stop worrying about microaggressions in song lyrics (Editor – a parliamentary petition is below) and Royal Canadian Navy considers dropping traditional marching song over diversity issues and then House of Common’s e-5266 Petition to the Minister of National Defence (Editor – “Keep Heart of Oak as the official march of the Royal Canadian Navy…Abandon all plans to alter or replace Heart of Oak as the official march of the RCN.”) but on the other side of the coin Your Military Needs Your Support, Not your Shitposts and for emphasis Heart of Oak, ships of steel (Editor – With all that is going on in the world I wish people would get excited about things that matter more: personnel shortages, old equipment, and chronic underfunding of the RCN!)
Parlons vétérans & Let’s Talk Veterans (Editor – VAC would like to hear from released Veterans, former RCMP members, and their families about their transition experience. The feedback can help VAC improve its services.)
Chef mécanicien à bord du NGCC Henry Larsen (Editor – CCG 2:21 min video)
Sélection des plongeurs-démineurs évaluation de la condition phyisque ! and Clearance Diver Selection Physical Fitness Evaluation! (Editor – RCN 5:55 min video)
Canadian Freighter ‘Tim S. Dool’ Hard Aground in St. Lawrence River
About 1,450 lobster boats to head out on Day 1 of Canada’s largest lobster fishery
Area off Vancouver Island a high-risk zone for ship-whale collisions: study
Trident: 25 November 2024, Volume 58, Issue 24
NAC Naval Affairs Maritime Threats to Canada (Editor – Most NAC Briefing notes have been updated and preserve their relevance. 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: Nov. 25, 2024
UPDATED: OMB Pitches $7.3B in Additional Funds for Columbia, Virginia Sub Construction
French Submarines for Argentina: A $2 Billion Naval Revamp (Editor – three Scorpène-class submarines)
Commissioning Forward to Freedom USS Beloit (LCS 29)
US Navy to Upkeep 56th Los Angeles Nuclear Submarine in New Hampshire
HII Lays Keel of US Navy’s 83rd Arleigh Burke Destroyer
Colombian navy intercepts narco-subs taking new route to Australia (Editor – Australians are the highest per capita users of cocaine in the world, followed by Britain, according to the OECD. The latest narco-sub was intercepted 1,200 miles southwest of Clipperton Island, an uninhabited French coral atoll in the Pacific.”)
Louisiana Firm to Deliver Polar Icebreaker for US Coast Guard
Report to Congress on Navy Constellation-class Frigate Program
Record-Breaking 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season Winds Down After Unprecedented Late-Season Surge
China-Mexico Trade Hits Record Volumes, But Volatility Looms in 2025 and money talks in Mexico, Mexico Looks Past Trump Threats With $2.7 Billion Port Expansion
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INDO-PACIFIC
Understanding Indonesia’s Gambit With China in the South China Sea
Chinese Ships Group Together Near Philippines’ Key Island Outpost in South China Sea
Carrier USS George Washington Returns to Japan
Crashed NZ navy ship was left on autopilot, inquiry finds
Sea Trials Begin for China’s Revolutionary Civilian Carrier
India successfully tests K-4 nuclear-capable missile from INS Arighaat
Navy Bases Virginia-class Attack Boat in Guam
General purpose frigate milestone reached with down-selection of shipbuilders
Two Fishermen Missing and 11 Rescued After Collision with Indian Navy Sub
How the Navy’s Nuclear Subs will shape security in the Indo-Pacific
India’s Submarine Evolution: The ₹45,000 Crore Investment in Maritime Defence
Analysis: AUKUS Submarines Bring UK US and Australia to the Forefront of Naval Warfare
Singapore Navy decommissions last of Challenger-class submarines while Saab, Singapore’s DSTA to explore underwater technologies
Chinese Navy to make regular visits to Hong Kong, in move praised by analysts
Pacific island governor backs $800m US military upgrade amid China threat
Philippines Expanding Naval Bases To Bolster Defense Posture (Editor – includes 5:10 min video)
Satellite images show Russia giving N Korea oil, breaking sanctions
170 Arrested in Coal Ship Blockade
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
1,000 days of full-scale war against Ukraine (Editor – NATO 55 sec video) and Doorstep statement by NATO Secretary General at EU Foreign Affairs Council (Editor – 7:40 min video)
Russian Strikes Have Damaged 321 Ukrainian Port Infrastructure Facilities, Zelenskiy Says
General:
Top NATO official calls on business leaders to prepare for ‘wartime scenario’
Stakes Rise in Baltic ‘Sabotage’ Standoff and the details Russia denies cutting Baltic Sea cables as tensions rise with NATO needs subsea cable plan then German and Swedish Coast Guards Arrive Near ‘Yi Peng 3’ In Escalating Cable Damage Incident OMG WSJ: Chinese Ship Dragged Anchor for 100 Miles and Cut Two Cables
Suspicious sailing by Russian ships near Norwegian gas hub while Norway’s self-imposed military restrictions are out-dated, professor argues
Anglo-Saxon special services involved in Nord Stream blasts, SVR chief says (Editor – where is this all going?)
Poland’s PM Proposes Navy Policing in Baltic Sea Amid Russia Threat
Sea-ice caused trouble for Russian warships
Portugal’s Small Navy Tracks Rising Level of Russian Activity in Atlantic
NATO warships train in Baltic Sea near Finland (Editor – both SNMG1 and SNMCMG1 participating) and Finland to join NATO’s 2025 peacetime missions in Iceland and the Baltic Sea among other places
Sitrep: Government making sensible cuts as Defence needs to do fewer things, but better (Editor – includes 27 sec video) and Is the Royal Navy in a terminal or temporary decline?
NAVANTIA Completes The Fitting Of The Hydrogen Propulsion System AIP Into A S-80 Class Submarine
German Navy conducts trials for IAI’s autonomous submarine
Up close with HERNE – BAE Systems’ XLUAV concept
New drone carrier to bring the power of UAVs to the oceans (Editor – 1:25 min video)
Germany NVL Group starts construction of first Type 424 Intelligence ship
UK Imposes Biggest Sanctions Package on Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’
Russia Resumes Ship-to-Ship LNG Transfers Ahead of EU Transshipment Ban
The Damen CLV: a new generation of cable layer
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
Red Sea Crisis: A Timeline of Maritime Chaos Over the Past Year
Iran ready to escort foreign ships in Red Sea — navy commander (Editor – this would make for strange situations!)
Five survivors found day after Red Sea tourist boat sinking
Containership Transits of Suez Canal Hit 2024 High, But Big Ships Avoid the Route
General:
The Lebanon ceasefire is a respite, not a solution for the Middle East
Israel MoD to Acquire Five Advanced Reshef-Class Ships to Replace Aging Saar 4.5 Fleet
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
The superpowers of coatings make possible the impossible
Recycling is failing as a way to reduce plastic. Here’s why
USCGC Polar Star Departs Seattle, Headed to Antarctica
Nigeria Navy, South Korea partner on shipbuilding and Training
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SCUTTLEBUTT
If The Allies LOST Battle Of The Atlantic | Atomic Bombs Would be Dropped on Germany (Editor – 1:03:47 min video)
Naval Logistics – Where does the food, fuel and ammo go? (Editor – 42:02 min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
30 November 1829 Two schooners pass from Port Dalhousie to Port Robinson in Upper Canada symbolically opening the Welland Canal and directly linking lakes Erie and Ontario.
1 December 1940 Destroyer HMCS St Laurent (ex HMS Cygnet), a Crusader or C-class destroyer known in the RCN as a River-class destroyer, was dispatched to escort convoy HX-90 in the Western Approaches, which was under heavy attack by seven U-boats. The attacking U-boats were commanded by some of the most successful aces of the war including Kretschmer, Prien, and Schepke. Between 1-3 Dec, they sank ten ships for a total of over 69,000 tons.
1 December 1948 HMCS Shearwater, RCN Air Station, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is commissioned. Named in recognition of the Condor-class sloop named HMCS Shearwater. Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada.
2 December 1946 HMCS Middlesex goes aground on Shut-in Island near Halifax and becomes a total loss.
2 December 1968 The Canadian submarine HMCS Rainbow is commissioned; purchased from the United States, it was originally the USS Argonaut launched in 1944.
3 December 1969 While the last RCN aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure was being decommissioned, the aviation fuel tanks are emptied and cleaned, but one of the tanks does not vent properly; two sailors are overcome by the fumes and another two lose their lives during the rescue attempt.
3 Dec 1980 The Standing NATO Force Atlantic (SNFL) Squadron departed Rotterdam with HMCS Fraser being the Canadian participant. The original plan had called for SNFL to disperse for the Christmas period, however, Soviet troop movements in the vicinity of the Polish border in response to the Solidarity Movement resulted in a period of increased tension in Europe. Consequently, the Squadron was ordered not to disperse but keep at an alert state with all ships remaining within 72 hours steaming of Skagerrak just in case people needed to be evacuated form Poland. The European SNFL ships returned to their respective home ports for maintenance while Fraser and USS Valdez proceeded in company with HMS Norfolk arriving in Portsmouth the afternoon of 5 December. Fraser remained in Portsmouth over Christmas and New Year and sailed 4 January 1981 fueling via St. Johns arriving Halifax 14 January. The lack of support for RCN ships in this situation helped spur the establishment of the RCN’s Military Family Support Centres (MFRC).
4 December 1940 HMCS Prince Henry is commissioned as an Armed Merchant Cruiser.
4-6 Dec 1950 A United Nations task force under Captain J.V. Brock, RCN, in HMCS Cayuga, and consisting of HMC Ships Athabaskan and Sioux, His Majesty’s Australian Ships Warramunga and Bataan, the USS Forest Royal, covered the seaborne withdrawal of civilians and elements of the 8th Army (US) threatened by enemy advances in the Chinnampo area, Korea.
5 December 1950 HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Cayuga bombard the port of Chinnampo, Korea.
6 December 1917 Halifax Explosion. A huge explosion in Halifax harbour destroys the naval facilities and much of the city. The explosion destroyed the north end of Halifax. About 2,000 people died and 9,000 were wounded. About 25,000 lost their homes. The Halifax explosion was the biggest human-made explosion until August 1945 when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. 21 Canadian sailors were killed in the explosion. Seven of them died instantly because they were aboard the Mont Blanc, heroically trying to put out the fire.
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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