NAC News – Edition 602 (Fort Ramsay)

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of January 31st, 2025
Edition: 602 HMCS Fort Ramsay Quotes: “Threats to Navy ships do not only come from newly introduced high-speed precision weapons. As history has shown, effective attacks can come from low-tech floating mines, explosives-laden small craft, and swimmer-delivered limpet mines. Regardless of the threat, surface ships and craft must be designed and built to avoid battle damage when possible, and to withstand it when it occurs, to prevail in combat—in sum, they must be built to fight and win.” Do Not Lower the Navy’s Ship Survivability Standards, USNI Proceedings January 2025, Vol. 151/1/1,463 by Rear Admiral Leonard Picotte and Captain Maurice Gauthier, U.S. Navy (Retired) (Editor – link to article in the USN section)
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.
5-6 March 2025 CDAI: Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence Celebrating its 93rd edition in 2025, the Conference at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel stands as Canada’s premier defence and security assembly. The conference centers its discussions around a wide spectrum of security and defence matters, orchestrating a sequence of impactful keynotes, presentations, and dialogues led by distinguished experts in the fields of security and defence from Canada and across the globe. Impressive speakers!
15–18 May 2025 CNMT has graciously extended the invitation to all NAC members who may not be CNMT trustees to join them for the 80th Anniversary of VE Day & Battle of the Atlantic Commemoration at Londonderry. There are events and activities planned for each day. If you plan to attend, please reach out to Gary Reddy at co@cnmt.ca. He will point you in the right direction for further details. The City Hotel Derry is offering special rates for attendees: Double/Twin B&B: £159 per night or Single B&B: £149 per night. To book your room, please call the hotel.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Defence minister accelerates 2% NATO spending timeline to 2027 amid pressure from Trump
Sweden seizes ship after suspected Baltic Sea cable sabotage and then Sweden opens sabotage probe into Baltic undersea cable damage resulting in 11 Baltic cables damaged in 15 months, pushing NATO to boost security (Editor – these can’t all be incompetence, so what’s the end game?)
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CANADA
Canadian Navy sailor dies after boat capsizes in Halifax’s Bedford Basin with CTV National News: Sailor dies after boat capsizes (Editor – 2:00 min CTV news video including the NAC’s condolences given by our President Bruce Belliveau) in due course Navy identifies sailor who died after boat capsized in Halifax harbour
First of its kind collaborative scientific expedition departs for the Antarctic (Editor – the science behind HMCS Margaret Brooke voyage. Thanks Arne Soderland for pointing this out.)
HMCS Harry DeWolf Joins U.S. in Drug Ops (Editor – both DeWolf Class deployments may not be warfighting, but they are both worthwhile endeavours and they free the Halifax and Kingston Class up for other operations)
Navy’s eight Orca-class vessels gather for historic exercise
Can fresh icebreakers break the ice between the US and Canada?
From Sea to Shore, Martin Drews shares his journey in Submarine Support
CGAI: A Constabulary Role for the Canadian Coast Guard?
Saab’s C71 ‘Expeditionary’ Submarine has captured Canada’s attention for Arctic defense capabilities (Editor – 2:07 min video)
Wreath Placed on Over 5,400 Military Graves
60 Seconds With… Lt(N) Melissa Burns on Exercise MAPLE ARCH
Almost three-quarters of Canadian troops are overweight or obese so Fitness Aboard a Canadian Patrol Frigate: A Case Study By Etienne Chassé and Yannick Laflamme
CSIS: Canadian Tariffs Will Undermine U.S. Minerals Security
Security & Prosperity: The Economic Case for a Defence Industrial Base Strategy
Report to Congress on TAGOS-25 Ocean Surveillance Shipbuilding Program
Canada seeks re-election to International Maritime Organization Council
National Flag of Canada Day — February 15
Repeat: Editor – NAC Membership and renewal campaigns are underway across the Branches. Membership runs from 1 January to 31 December 2025. Renewal via WA if you wish.
NAC Ottawa Speaker’s Evening January 2025 (Editor – RCN Director Naval Requirements, Capt (RCN) Drew Graham in a 35:35 min first-rate presentation)
Maritime Engineering Journal Winter 2024-2025 – Canada’s Naval Technical Forum
CNMT: Action Stations! Magazine
The Navigator: Dropping Anchor – What makes a good anchoring experience?
Salute: January 2025
Repeat: Editor – The next edition of STARSHELL is scheduled to be published this month, with one to follow in May 2025 – please forward your articles and ideas to our editor, Adam Lajeunesse soonest (adam_lajeunesse@outlook.com)
Lookout: 27 January 2025 Volume 70, Issue 2
Trident: 27 January 2025 Volume 59, Issue 02
NAC Naval Affairs Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels (Editor – timely briefing note given HMCS Margaret Brooke is heading for the Antarctic)
(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)
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USA & AMERICA
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 27, 2025
Canadian freighter remains stuck in the ice on a frozen Lake Erie then Coast Guard Icebreakers Free Trapped Bulk Carrier ‘Manitoulin’ on Lake Erie
In A New Surprise, President Trump Announces America Will Order 40 Big Icebreakers
Do Not Lower the Navy’s Ship Survivability Standards
First of 3 new Coast Guard cutters arrives to homeport in Kodiak, Alaska
BAE Systems to upgrade additional Mk 45 naval guns for US Navy (Editor – Fraser Class will have the 127mm Leonardo Vulcano (I assume it’s this variant with the multi-functional fusing))
Germany plans guarantees for TKMS to secure Argentinian submarine deal, say sources
The Navy’s robot refueler is coming—even as the fleet works out integration
First Replicator Initiative Capability on Track for August, Officials Say
CIMSEC: restore wargaming focus to the naval war college
CIMSEC: prepare the navy and marine corps for protracted war against China
CIMSEC: An Investment in the U.S. Navy is an Investment in Prosperity (Editor – strategic perspective)
CIMSEC: It is time for a new maritime strategy
This Congressman Wants to Kill the Ford Class Aircraft Carrier (Editor – interesting window into the big carrier shuffle 23:17 min video)
SEA’s Modular Launcher Helps Latin American Navies Future-Proof Against Submarine Threats
Amphibious Coalition Forecasts Benefits of Multi-Ship Amphib Ship Buy
Argentine Navy Strengthens South Atlantic Patrols with Second P-3C Orion Acquisition
Glosten Designing Floating Nuclear Power Plant for US Ports Barge-Based Infrastructure
Surging Container Imports Signal U.S. Economic Strength
Nine Charged in Massive Smuggling Scheme at Ports of Los Angeles and Long beach
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INDO-PACIFIC
Trump Administration’s Defense Chief reaffirms US Commitment to AUKUS in talks with Australia
Thyssenkrupp Wins Indian Navy Deal to Build Six AIP-Equipped Subs
‘Back To The 80s’ For French Carrier Strike Group
Carrier USS Carl Vinson Makes Port Call in Thailand, French Carrier Wraps La Perouse Exercise
Italian Navy Deploys Marceglia FREMM Frigate to the Indo-Pacific
Australian Navy Accepts First Arafura-Class OPV
Chinese task group returns from 11-month deployment
La mission Clemenceau 25 vise à « promouvoir un espace indo-pacifique libre, ouvert et stable »
Philippines Stops Research Survey After Chinese ‘Harassment’ in Disputed Sea
Taiwan creates blacklist of Chinese-owned ships
Breaking News: Tensions Escalate as North Korea Tests Nuclear-Capable Strategic Cruise Missiles
South Korea Kicks Off FFX Batch-IV Frigate Program
Type 23 A-SAM missiles: Japan’s Answer to Evolving Regional Missile Threats and Japan’s Strategic Leap in Air Defense The 23 Type A SAM Missiles Set to Revolutionize Maritime Security (Editor – 2:19 min related video)
Defence Ministry invites MDL for negotiating India’s biggest ever deal on January 27
Chinese scientists build world’s first deep sea radar that detects high-flying aircraft (Editor – I understand acoustically, but with radar?)
Philippines Upgrades Warships With ASW Capabilities to Patrol Contested Waters
Navy boosts MiG-29K combat capability with 250 km-strike range Rampage missile
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
What’s Putin’s end goal in Russia-Ukraine war? (Editor – comments by Gen Eric Smith, Commandant of the US Marine Corps in a 1-minute video)
To deal with Russia, first understand what Putin wants
CEPA: Ukraine Is Far From Defeated
General:
Video: Russian Nuclear Icebreaker Sustains Damage In Arctic Collision with Cargo Ship
Flash News: UK Deploys Navy ships and submarine to Shadow Russian Spy Ship Yantar in British Waters
‘Baltic Sentry’ demonstrates NATO MCM core role in countering CUI threats
Newest submarine arrives in home base Zapadnaya Litsa
Rolls-Royce wins $11 Billion UK Nuclear Submarine Contract
New UK submarine facility will maintain nuclear deterrence and national security, says minister
UK’s seventh Astute-class submarine to be named HMS Achilles
Denmark Commits $2 Billion to Arctic Defense Amid Growing Security Concerns and more Denmark replaces Thetis-Class patrol ships with modern Arctic Vessels following Trump’s Greenland Remarks with more details Denmark secures defence agreement on Arctic and North Atlantic (Editor – good for the Danes, revolting they are being bullied)
Russia Says it Does Not Threaten Undersea Cables After UK Raises Alarm
French DGA Orders New SAM And C-UAS Systems
UK to sell HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark to Brazil Raising Concerns over Amphibious Capability
Airbus And Navantia To Integrate SIRTAP Drone Into Spanish Navy’s LHD
EU Won’t Ban Russian LNG Until Alternative Sources Secured, Diplomats Say
Sanctions Bite, Drive Cost of Russian Oil Shipments Soaring
A body blow to Putin’s “dirty fleet” with Sanctioned tankers jam in freezing sea-ice and Russia Oil Trade to China, India Stalls as Sanctions Drive Up Shipping Costs while Russia’s Zvezda Shipyard Delivers First Arctic Oil Tanker After 3-Year Delay, But Vessel Already Sanctioned by US
‘World’s first’ commercial sailing RoRo ship launched in Türkiye
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
Crew of USS Stockdale Shot Down Houthi Drones with 5-Inch Gun, Says Admiral
Containership Abandoned in Red Sea After Fire, Crew Safely Rescued
CIMSEC: Reconsider Red Sea Risk: Revealing U.S. Navy Air and Missile Defense Capability to China
General:
Fire Breaks Out On Russian Spy Ship Near Syria’s Coast
Report: U.S. Vessel Approached by Military Craft in Persian Gulf Amid Iranian Naval Exercises while Vessels Approached and Hailed as Iran Stages Persian Gulf Naval Exercise
Iran tests Strategic Naval Strike capabilities with Shahid Soleimani corvette in 19th Prophet Drill
Rafael Demonstrates Compatibility of EW Decoy Rockets with SRBOC and 130mm Launchers
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
Oceans Are Warming Faster and Faster as the Earth Traps More Energy
ITF: Seafarer Abandonments Skyrocket in 2024 to Record Highs and Seafarer Happiness Index Shows First Decline in 2024, Port Access Restrictions Key Concern
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Infernal Machines, the History of Naval Mines (Editor – 16:31 min video)
Shipping 101: Containerships (Editor – 16:26)
Race is On to Save World’s Third-Oldest Warship
Historic WWII UK Warship Secures Grant to Support Revitalization Program (Editor – The Wellington Trust and several hundred museum ships are kept around the world, with around 175 of them organised in the Historic Naval Ships Association including HMCS Sackville and Ojibwa amongst others)
Generations of Battleships – A Reasonable Guide to Classifying your Capital Ships (Editor – 18:46 min video)
Mothball Warships US Navy Ghost Fleet Abandoned Ships (Editor – 7:47 min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
1 February 1911 The first recruiting posters for the RCN are issued to post offices throughout Canada.
1 February 1968 The personnel and organization of the RCN, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force were unified into a single organization, the Canadian Armed Forces.
2 February 2003 HMCS Regina joins the Canadian Naval Task Group, part of the international anti-terrorism campaign in the Persian Gulf.
5 February 1856 The Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for military valour was instituted. There are only four Canadian naval VC recipients who were all serving in or with the RN at the time of the award, and three of them were Canadian born.
5 February 1942 The Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd. passenger ship RMS Empress of Asia (an armed merchant cruiser and troopship under the Admiralty’s Liner Requisition Scheme) was sailing from Bombay to Singapore. Embarked were troops and supplies to reinforce Singapore in the face of the rapid Japanese advances and their recent conquest of British Malaya. The Empress was in convoy BM-12 and within eyesight of her destination, when she became the enemy’s primary target among the five merchant ships in the convoy. Nine Japanese dive-bombers focused their assault on the Empress of Asia. She eventually sank after anchoring and burning on the Sultan Shoal at the entrance to Singapore. Sixteen passengers were killed. The 1884 survivors were rescued by HMAS Yarra, HMAS Bendigo, and HMAS Wollongong.
5 February 1944 HMS Puncher, an aircraft carrier, is commissioned into the Royal Navy at Vancouver with a Canadian crew, but a Royal Naval Fleet Air Arm as their aviation contingent. HMS PUNCHER was a ‘Smiter’ class escort carrier (US Bogue class) built in the USA at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. Tacoma, Washington. She was transferred to the RN 5 February 1944. Manned by a small steaming party under the command of Commander Price (RCNVR), HMS Puncher departed Trachoma for Vancouver 12 February. She was one of 19 escort carriers to be modified to meet Admiralty requirements by the Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., North Vancouver. Puncher was one of only two ships to be jointly RN/RCN manned, Nabob was the other; her ship’s company, excluding the Air Department and squadrons, was provided by the Royal Canadian Navy. Several British Merchant Navy personnel under contracts manned the Engine Room. Out of her crew of 646 men, 450 were from Canada. On 16 January 1946 the White Ensign was lowered for the last time, and CVE 53 was transferred back to the custody of the USN, and was subsequently rebuilt into a merchant ship that was scrapped in 1973.
6 February 1941 SS Maplecourt was the first Canadian registered merchant ship to be sunk during WW2. The freighter (with 3604 tons of cargo, including 1540 tons of steel) was one of 38 ships in slow convoy SC-20 which departed Halifax on 22 Jan 1941. The armed merchant cruiser HMS Ranpura was the sole mid-ocean escort. On 2 Feb, before nearing the Western Approaches, Ranpura broke off and returned to Halifax. Five RN Ships (destroyer Harvester; corvettes Arbuties, Camellia and Erica; and the armed yacht Philante) then became escorts. Five merchant ships were sunk before the convoy reached Liverpool. Maplecourt had been a straggler when she was torpedoed by U-107 on 6 Feb 1941. She rapidly sank about 360 nm west of Northern Ireland. The crew of 38 were lost.
6 February 1943 Italian aircraft attack with bombs and torpedoes and sink in 3 minutes the RCN Flower Class corvette HMCS Louisburg east of Oran while she is escorting a convoy from Gibraltar to Bone, Algeria. 2 Officers, 35 crew, and 5 RN seaman are lost.
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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