NAC News – Edition 594 (Granville)
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of December 6th, 2024
Edition: 594 YTL Granville (Robert Allan Ltd Canadian designed tug)
Quotes: “Dominating fentanyl production, the Sinaloa cartel and cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación source their precursor chemicals principally from China. Beyond narcotics, Mexican criminal groups are also taking over legal economies in Mexico, such as agriculture, mining, and fisheries, increasing their control over the economy and daily life, as well as expanding globally.” Vanda Felbab-Brown and Fred Dews, Brookings Institute – The fentanyl pipeline and China’s role in the US opioid crisis, 9 October 2024
(Editor – NAC-VI members enjoyed an timely presentation last week from the then CO of HMCS Yellowknife, LCdr Tyson Babcock with respect to His Majesty’s Canadian Ships Edmonton and Yellowknife Return from Successful Operation CARIBBE)
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
Le NCSM Vancouver revient des opérations HORIZON et NEON & HMCS Vancouver returns from Operations HORIZON and NEON
Le Canada transfère le commandement du 2e Groupe maritime permanent de l’OTAN and Canada Transfers Command of SNMG2 to Turkey
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CANADA
Everyone agrees Canada should spend more on defence. How do we pay for it?
Minister Blair and Premier Pillai sign letter of intent to establish a Reserve presence in Whitehorse, Yukon (Editor – new Naval Reserve Division)
Babcock and Hanwha Ocean join forces For naval procurement projects (Editor – alliance in part for Canadian Patrol Submarine Project proposal)
Canadian Frigate Destroys Target in Joint U.S.-Navy Littoral Missile Shoot
Minister Blair concludes 16th Halifax International Security Forum
Canadian military morale sees uptick but problems persist: report
CDAI: (EN) International and Domestic Arctic Assessment: Canada’s Arctic Threats and Vulnerabilities (Editor – one of the recommendations: “Abandon the Nanisivik fuel depot. Instead establish one in Iqaluit and with industries in the region.”)
CDAI: It is Past Time for Canada to get itself out of the Defence Rust-Out Trap
Special Requirements Commissioning Plan Seeking Senior Non Commissioned Members
Kingston Class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV) of the Royal Canadian Navy | Go Bold S3 Ep4 (Editor – 59:13 min video)
CDR: Uncrewed Systems – Drone Wars
Esprit de Corps: CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Can the RCN Really Stop Russia and China in the Arctic? (Editor – 5:30 min video. Disclaimer: NAC doesn’t necessarily concur “opinion” content of some of the links published in NAC News, however it is felt that the NAC membership needs to be aware that controversial items are out there…in the hopes you can explain or refute the articles/videos)
Oil Patch in Canada Has $24 Billion Shield Against Trump Tariffs
New plan in the making to free cargo ship stuck in St. Lawrence River
Combat Support Ship Asterix Departs Davie After Scheduled Maintenance
CDAI: 2024 Winter Internship Applications Now Open. They are seeking two (2) Research Assistant Interns for paid winter internships, starting in January – April 2025. CDAI is looking for dynamic, motivated individuals with a strong interest in Canadian defence, security, geopolitics, and foreign policy to join our team and contribute to the critical work of advancing Canada’s security interests. Application Deadline: Friday, December 13, 2024 (23:59 EST) To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter with the subject line “Winter Internship Application” to Josh Malm, Director of Research and Analysis, at josh@cdainstitute.ca.
VAC: Salute November 2024
Lookout: Volume 69, Issue 40, December 2, 2024
NAC Naval Affairs Submarines (Editor – 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: Dec. 2, 2024
U.S. Navy Increasingly Turning to Commercial Tankers for At-Sea Refueling Operations
Coast Guard Inks Deal to Acquire ‘Aiviq’ As Vessel Arrives in Tampa Dry Dock to Begin Conversion then U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker ‘Aiviq’ to be Renamed ‘Storis’ Photos Reveal
USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group Returning from Deployment
Stealth destroyer to be home for 1st hypersonic weapon on a US warship
Subject: United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert Reg Auto-Pilot Induced Casualties (Editor – timely bulletin given HMNZS Manawanui’s initial sinking report)
US Navy to extend artillery range with new LRMP 155mm precision-guided munitions
HMS Medway strengthens UK commitment to Caribbean
U.S. Sanctions Five Gulf Cartel Members Over Illegal Fishing in Gulf of Mexico
Panama Cancels Ship Registrations After UK’s Shadow Fleet Crackdown
Threatened by Climate Change, Panama Canal Has Big Plans to Deal With Drought
Behind the scenes of the Baltimore bridge collapse
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INDO-PACIFIC
INS Vikrant Fully Operational After Completing Final Clearance: Vice Admiral V Srinivas (Editor – India on the move! As we struggle to recapitalize, the major nations are growing like crazy) with India to ink deal for Rafale jets, submarines soon: Navy chief and US okays $1.17bn MH-60R helicopter equipment sale to India
Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Leaves South China Sea, Russian Surface Action Group Visits China
Burmese Navy Opens Fire on Thai Fishing Vessels
Philippine Coast Guard Deploys Two Cutters to Protect Fishermen from Chinese Forces at Iroquois Reef and Filipino vessel ‘sideswiped’ by China Coast Guard and the Chinese spin! ‘True provocateur and violator’- Filipino ship deliberately rams into CCG ship near Huangyan Dao as China implements control measures (Editor – note the size difference)
China Bans Export of Key Minerals to U.S. as Trade Frictions Escalate
Record-Breaking Drug Bust: Australian Authorities Seize Cocaine Worth $465 Million at Sea
Kongsberg to supply RAS equipment for Indian Navy FSS ships (Editor – which I hope would make them NATO compatible!)
AUKUS risks are piling up. Australia must prepare to build French SSNs instead
Alcohol banned for USS George Washington crew following sailor deaths
Austal delivers 22nd Guardian-class patrol boat to Australia (Editor – great programme Guardian Class patrol boat (Austal patrol 40)) and with that same theme US to Provide Security Boats to Vietnam
China Coast Guard Says It Conducted Patrols Around Scarborough Shoal In South China Sea
India and Pakistan Coordinate to Rescue Crew from Sinking Cargo Ship
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
The case for a British task force in the Black Sea
Netherlands Trains Ukrainians to Operate Donated Minesweepers
General:
As Sabotage Allegations Swirl, NATO Struggles to Secure the Baltic Sea and Finland Crafting Whole-of-Government Defense Posture with NATO Wants to Use Drone Boats for Maritime Security in the Baltic while Sweden asks China to cooperate on Baltic Sea cable investigation
FACTBOX: What to know about rupture of telecom cable between Sweden, Finland
Report: Russian Ship Fired Flare at German Helicopter in Baltic Sea
French Carrier Deployment Clemenceau 25 Begins
La marine royale néerlandaise traverse une transformation majeure
Finn Ice – Iron Duke helps newest ally integrate into NATO on Baltic exercise
Analysis: Next-Generation Russian Shtorm Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier Set to Challenge US Nimitz Class (Editor – living in a fantasy world)
Truman Strike Group Concludes High-North Operations with Strait of Gibraltar Transit
Italian Navy to commission Trieste helicopter carrier as new flagship for amphibious task group
Upgrading Royal Navy anti-submarine weapons
Norway establishes NATO amphibious warfare center in Sørreisa
HMS Prince of Wales to take over as Britain’s flagship
Video: Exail’s New MCM Drones Factory In Ostend, Belgium (Editor – includes 9:38 min video)
Iceland issues permits allowing whale hunting until 2029
Oslo and Moscow safeguard fishery cooperation (Editors – Russia Government’s is a bully and time and again this is their instinctive response)
Containers Spilled in Apparent Navigation Incident With Autonomous Barge
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
U.S. Navy Destroyers Thwart Multiple Houthi Attacks on American Ships
What It’s Like to Captain a Tanker on Fire After a Houthi Attack
General:
Fincantieri delivers the LPD “Al-Fulk” To Qatar (Editor – what a versatile ship!)
Russian Warships from Northern Fleet Showcase Support for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad
Iran’s Oil Trade With China Rattled by US Sanctions on Tankers
Chinese Buyers Soak Up Unsold Oil as Iranian Crude Flows Slow
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
World could see ice-free Arctic by 2030 warns new study
Mega-Containership and Oil Tanker Collide in Strait of Gibraltar
Armed Somali Pirates Board Chinese Fishing Vessel
Greece and Mexico Move Ahead with Cruise Passenger Taxes
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SCUTTLEBUTT
For Want of an Oiler: The Fragile State of America’s Afloat Logistics Fleet (Editor – For the want of a nail the shoe was lost…a 13:40 min video)
Why Canada’s Northernmost Town Exists
La marine oubliée : la marine marchande durant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale & The Forgotten Navy: The Merchant Navy in the Second World War (Editor – 8:27 min video)
The Mariner’s Mirror: European Ship Surveyors in China, 1869-1918 (Editor – 31 min podcast)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
7 December 1941 Canada declares war on Romania, Hungary, Finland, and Japan.
7 December 1941 HMCS Windflower is lost and 23 of her crew perish after a collision with a Dutch freighter SS Zypenburg on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
8 December 1918 The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service is discontinued, and the cadets being trained are demobilized.
10 December 1939 The first Canadian troop convoy of 7,400 soldiers sails for Britain escorted out of Halifax by HMC ships Ottawa, Restigouche, Fraser, and St. Laurent.
12 December 1942 Destruction by fire of Knights of Columbus Hostel, St. John’s, Nfld. Ninety-nine people died (80 of whom were Service personnel) and a further 109 were critically injured. Sixteen RCNVR/RCNR sailors were lost in the fire. Stoker 2nd Class Goodwin was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal: “notwithstanding the fact that he could have saved his own life and that he himself was very badly burned, this rating assisted in removing two girls from the building, thereby saving their lives. He was then overcome by flames and lost his life.” All sixteen RCNVR/RCNR sailors are buried in the St John’s (Mount Pleasant) Cemetery in St John’s, Newfoundland. This tragedy was felt in eight Canadian cities with the largest loss felt at HMCS Chippawa in Winnipeg.
12 December 1969 RCN retires aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure after 12 years of service; “Bonnie” never saw combat, but was scrambled during the October Missile Crisis; later sold for scrap. During her service life, Bonaventure carried five squadrons. The aircraft carrier’s initial air group was composed of sixteen McDonnell F2H Banshee jet fighters and eight Grumman CS2F Tracker anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. The Banshee, flown by VF 870 and VF 871, and Tracker, operated by VS 880 and VS 881, were flown from Bonaventure, along with Sikorsky HO4S ASW helicopters operated by HS 50. In 1963, the aircraft carrier began a refit to allow her to operate the new Sikorsky CHSS-2 Sea King helicopters, which had been ordered to replace the HO4Ss. Her departure closed out 26 years of Canadian operation or ownership of aircraft carriers…and the loss of a wonderful capability for combat, peacekeeping, and humanitarian operations.
13 December 1940 HMCS Royal Roads is commissioned as a training establishment for Volunteer Reserve Probationary Sub-Lieutenants. Five classes were instructed there, each containing between 100 and 125 men. This programme came to an end in September 1942 when the naval college took over the buildings. The three establishments; Stone Frigate, Royal Roads, and Kings, trained about 3,800 executive officers, and at the peak the navy’s strength there were roughly 4,000 executive officers in the RCNVR.
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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