naval affairs

NAC News – Edition 599 (Coverdale)

NAC News – Edition 599 (Coverdale)

NATO photo of the Year

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of January 10th, 2025

Edition: 599 HMC NRS Coverdale  Quotes: “the Red Sea Crisis serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities facing global trade and the shortcomings of current strategies aimed at ensuring safe passage in vital waterways.  Having assumed for too long that the maritime environment is inherently stable, free and open countries need to rethink urgently the way navies work together with commercial shipping.  This will need to happen within a wider effort to restore European naval power, where navies are allocated sufficient resources to deliver the measures necessary to safeguard trade.  Allowing the situation to persist undermines efforts to deter future attempts at disrupting freedom of navigation. Ultimately, it is up to navies to guarantee safe passage of trade.”  Protecting trade in contested waters, The Memorandum No. 26.2024, Britain’s World, William Freer & Charlotte Kleberg, 23 Dec 2024.

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

NEW and Short Notice for those in the Kingston area:  16 January 2025 at 7pm. Night One: Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory with author Ted Barris.  Location: Great Lakes Museum, 55 Ontario Street, Kingston

NEW 29 January 2025  1-3 PM Halifax time RUSI-NS extends an invitation to members of the NAC to a presentation by Robert Taylor, Principal Engineer Shipyard Solutions, Bardex Corporation, on drydocks and vertical shiplifts.  The presentation will be conducted simultaneously in-person and online (via Zoom).  The in-person part will be at the Royal Artillery Park Officers’ Mess, CFB Halifax.  Registration is required, so email RUSI Nova Scotia rusinovascotia@gmail.com with a subject line: RUSI(NS) Distinguished Speaker 29 January 2025 Registration.  Please indicate whether you plan to attend in-person or online.  Also indicate your unit, association, or company.  Zoom instructions will be emailed to registrants by Monday, 27 January.

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.

________________________________________________________________

THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

Trump’s ‘5 percent down’ plan for Europe (Editor – from the article, “Europe failed that same kind of choice in the 1930s, and World War II ensued.  Today, Putin has made his position clear.  Last Friday [20 Dec 24], he bluntly announced that that the world has declared war on Russia, and that in response, “Russian world has declared war.”

________________________________________________________________

CANADA

HMCS Ottawa has close encounter with a Chinese navy ship (Editor – 2:38 min video) and of course Expert slams Canadian media ‘turning black into white’ by hyping PLA shadowing Canadian warship in E. China Sea

River Class Destroyer Land-Based Testing Facility

CGAI paper by NAC member Kate Todd: Redesigning the Royal Canadian Navy for a More Dangerous World and another one by NAC member Peter Hayden Canadian Naval Future: IRPP Working Paper

DND warns Canada’s commitment to peacekeeping missions drops to new low

Canadian Forces considering bonuses to keep soldiers from leaving: document

Cargo ship stuck in St. Lawrence River for two weeks refloated on Tuesday

Minister Duclos says it should be ‘relatively easy’ to sell Trump on icebreaker pact

Canada’s Victoria-Class Submarine Nightmare Has Just ‘Docked’ and Canada’s Navy Is Slowly Rotting Away and Canada’s Air Force Is Slowly Rotting Away and Canada’s Army Is Slowly Rotting Away (Editor – all posted in rapid succession by “1945” in the US)

Canadian Armed Forces – Naval Combat Systems Engineering Officer – English (Editor – RCN recruiting 4:53 min video)

$150M class-action payout approved in Canadian military racism lawsuit

National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials (Editor – I found it easiest to go in through the interactive map)

B.C. ship recycler penalized $46,105 for leaking toxic effluent into ocean

Un navire de la marine canadienne attire l’attention pendant sa tournée des Grands Lacs

Un navire de la Marine royale canadienne à Toronto

Un navire de la Marine royale canadienne en visite d’amitié à Hô Chi Minh-Ville

Port of Prince Rupert introduces bunkering service for deep-sea shipping

Before he was president, Jimmy Carter saved nuclear reactor after meltdown (Editor – This article was passed to me by NAC member Bill Dziadyk upon seeing the President’s obit in last week’s NAC News.  I don’t see a Canadian medal in his long list of awards, but Canada certainly owed him a debt of gratitude!) a more detailed CBC account How a future U.S. president helped avert nuclear disaster near Canada’s capital and finally Chalk River – The First Nuclear Reactor Accident in History (Editor – the commentator is painful, but the 20:04 min video is remarkable)

NAC Naval Affairs MV Asterix (Editor – NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more.  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 & AMERICA

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 6, 2025

Red Sea Attacks Are Testing Combat Information Centers Aboard U.S. Navy Warships Like Never Before (Editor – a must read article.  This operational experience is worth its weight in gold.  The operational analysis and issues raised will be fed backing into the USN system to make the USN better and better)

Navy Plan to Buy 85 New Ships Will Cost $1 Trillion, CBO Says

SECNAV Del Toro Names Destroyer After Carrier Intrepid

Navy Names Third Expeditionary Medical Ship USNS Portsmouth (EMS 3) details The Navy is naming its newest hospital ship after Portsmouth Naval Hospital

AUKUS May Sink or Strengthen U.S. Submarine Industrial Base

Icebreaker ‘Storis’ Officially Joins U.S. Coast Guard Fleet

Longshoremen reach tentative agreement with ports, shippers, averting a potential strike

Biden to Ban New Oil Drilling Over Vast Stretch of US Atlantic, Pacific Waters

________________________________________________________________

INDO-PACIFIC

Japan Facing Most Complex Security Environment Since World War II, Warn Military Leaders

Taiwan investigating Chinese vessel over damage to undersea cable of course China-linked Shipowner Denies Taiwan Accusation of Damaging Undersea Cable

China Suddenly Building Fleet Of Special Barges Suitable For Taiwan Landings

CIMSEC: Sea Control 558 – The Proliferation of Drones in Naval Warfare with Tuneer Mukherjee (Editor – 33:13 min podcast)

French Navy aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle arrives in Goa and Once inducted Rafale-Ms to significantly enhance Indian Navy’s strike capabilities eventually Poised set to finalise 26 Rafale-M jets & 3 Scorpene subs during PM Modi’s visit to Paris in Feb also French Naval ships FS Forbin, FS Alsace arrive in Kochi to strengthen India-France naval collaboration

USNI: Crisis in the Taiwan Strait (Editor – 36:12 min historical podcast for perspective)

Bharat Dynamics Limited To Co-Produce Ultra Maritime Sonobuoys

En mer du Japon, la Marine française tente de tenir son rang dans la zone indo-pacifique

La Marine nationale a réalisé l’une de ses plus importantes saisies de drogue en Polynésie française

Indian Navy submarines to be equipped with new torpedoes under US$102m deal

Vaghsheer Submarine: Latest Addition to India’s Scorpene-Class Fleet

Damen Hands Fourth Yarmook Patrol Ship to Pakistan Navy

North Korea’s New Warship Appears To Be Designed For Vertical Launch System, Phased Array Radar

China Sends Largest Cutter on “Law Enforcement” Patrol Off Luzon correspondingly  Philippines’ Maritime, Air assets to watch China’s ‘monster ship’

Australian Border Force Captures 12 Illegal Fishing Boats in a Month

China and COSCO Lash Out Over U.S. Listing of Military-Related Companies

Shandong Port Group Bans ‘US-designated’ Vessels (Editor – this is getting interesting and confusing at the same time!) with China Not Aware of Shandong Port Ban on US-Sanctioned Ships

Shipbuilding: Container Ship Order Book Soars to New Heights

________________________________________________________________

EUROPE

Ukraine:

Black Sea Power Struggle: Why Neither Russia Nor Ukraine Holds Naval Supremacy

Black Widow 2: Ukraine’s Latest Weapon in River Operations Against Russia

Russia Ceases Naval Ship Repair in Crimea Following Ukrainian Attacks

General:

European Security Threatened by Escalating Hybrid Warfare beyond cable GPS Spoofing Attacks Are Dangerously Misleading Airliners

UK-led reaction system activated to track threats to undersea infrastructure, monitor Russian shadow fleet strangely Sanctioned shadow fleet gas carrier zigzags between Norwegian oil platforms

Dutch frigate Tromp to lead NATO fleet

Russian-linked ships are suspected of sabotage in the Baltic Sea. Some say it may be just the beginning details of the latest: Finnish Court Upholds Seizure of Russian Oil Tanker Amid Cable Probe then Finland Begins Port State Inspection On Detained Tanker Eagle S and Swedish Navy Helps Finland Investigate Latest Seabed Warfare Incident then Anchor Suspected of Causing Estlink2 Cable Damage Recovered from Baltic Sea it just keeps coming Finnish Authorities Find Alarming Safety Deficiencies on Russian Tanker Suspected Cable Damage

Russian Navy: New Ships Milestones In December 2024

Upgraded nuclear missile sub conducts tests in icy waters

Programme EUSTON – floating dry docks for Royal Navy submarines

Leonardo unveils design of Proteus Uncrewed Rotorcraft Technology Demonstrator

Northern Fleet gives priority to faraway voyages

Portuguese Navy on Alert as Russian Warships Pass Near National Waters

No progress on UK Type 32 Frigate project as review pending

French Navy’s New Tanker Conducts First Replenishment At Sea With U.S. Commercial Oiler

Turkey Begins Construction of Three Indigenous Warships

Mediterranean claimed more than 2,200 migrant lives in 2024. Here’s why it could be worse this year big issue Record number of migrants, refugees reached Canary Islands by sea in 2024

China’s Biggest Shipping Line Added to US Military Blacklist

Royal Fleet Auxiliary Officers Accept Historic Pay Deal

Russia’s Crude Shipments Tumble to the Lowest in 16 Months

Russia Declares Emergency After Black Sea Oil Spill

Battle of the Atlantic U-Boat museum work to start

________________________________________________________________

MIDDLE EAST

Red Sea:

U.S. Central Command Launches First 2025 Strikes Against Houthis

Video: U.S. Navy Launches Tomahawk Missile Strike Against Houthi Targets

Houthis Claim to Stop U.S. Attack by Targeting USS Harry S. Truman

The Wartime Risk Insurers Making Fortunes Keeping Trade Moving

General:

Russia withdraws all submarines from the Mediterranean Sea but Russian Evacuation from Tartus Naval Base Appears Stalled

Saudi Arabia seeks MK 54 torpedoes in $78.5m US FMS sale

Iran’s Oil Exports Soar to 587M Barrels, Led by China’s Thirst

________________________________________________________________

GLOBAL INTERESTS

Ghana Commissions New Naval Base, Receives Vessel from Japan

From Syria to Libya: Russians plan to move some military equipment to Africa

Chilean president makes historic trip to South Pole

Damen delivers FCS 3307 patrol vessel to Nigeria’s Homeland

________________________________________________________________

SCUTTLEBUTT

Why Canada Paid For America’s Most Important Canal | MEGA Infrastructure

The US Sub that Punished Japan 36 Years Late (Editor – 14:12min video)

________________________________________________________________

THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

11 January 1957  HMCS Magnificent arrives in Port Said with the main body of the Canadian contribution in troops and materiel to the United Nations Emergency Force controlling the Israeli-Egyptian border.

12 January 1942  HMCS Red Deer rescues 93 survivors from the British SS Cyclops, torpedoed by U-123, 125 miles southeast of Cape Sable, killing 88 merchant sailors.   Cyclops is the first victim of Operation DRUMBEAT, the un-restricted U-boat campaign off the coast of Canada and the US.

13 January 1943  RCN corvette HMCS Ville de Québec commanded by LCdr A.R.E. Coleman, RCNR sank the German submarine U-224 west of Oran Algeria.

14 January 1952  HMCS Uganda is renamed Quebec.  Given Uganda’s history at the end of WW2 the renaming was inevitable.

15 January 1991 The UN security Council deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait passes and the Persian Gulf War begins.

17 January 1957  HMCS Bonaventure is commissioned at Belfast, Northern Ireland.  She is the first aircraft carrier to be owned outright by Canada and incorporates several post-war technical developments: an angled deck, mirror landing aid, and steam catapults.

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.

Link to Starshell Magazine

Other Interesting Web Sites

Archived weekly NAC New Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/navalassn/
Twitter: @navalassn

Should you wish to donate or leave a memorial, consider donating to the NAC, its Branches  or the NAC Endowment Fund.  Donations to the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Education Foundation should be made through its website.

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

 

Our mailing address is:

Naval Association of Canada

c/o HMCS CARLETON

79 Prince of Wales Drive

Ottawa, ON K1A 0K2

Canada

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@navalassoc.ca

Copyright © 2025 Naval Association of Canada, all rights reserved.