NAC News – Edition 615 (Halifax/Dartmouth/Shearwater)
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of May 2nd, 2025
Quote: “The sinking of the troop-transport S.S. Nerissa by enemy action [30 April 1941], with significant loss of life caused an immediate public relations dilemma for the wartime government of Canada and both the RCN and the Canadian Army headquarters staffs in Ottawa. There were administrative need and a moral obligation to inform the next-of-kin of the casualties…and there was a conflicting wartime national security need to maintain confidentiality od operational and other details related to the tragic incident.” S.S. Nerissa, the Final Crossing, pg. 128. William Dziadyk, Second edition 2021 Editor – see details in “This Week in RCN/Maritime History” 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 a NAC member – note, the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)
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NOTICES
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.
19-22 June 2025 Halifax Fleet Week. Naval vessels from Canada and Allied nations will gather for public tours and demonstrations. The event features educational programmes, community activities, and a showcase of modern naval technologies, celebrating maritime heritage and international cooperation in Halifax Harbour.
26-27 September 2025 The Canadian Maritime Security Network (CMSN) will host a conference on the future Canadian Seapower 2025. Venue – University of Calgary. Today, Canada faces a more complex and dangerous security landscape than at any time since the Second World War. The country is at an inflection point, facing two great power competitors, a complicated ecosystem of malign non-state actors, persistent pressures eroding the rules based international order, and an uncertain partnership with the U.S. Registration opens 1 May 2025.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
What’s it going to take to build back Canada’s military capability (Editor – CBC 3:41 min video interview with CGAI David Perry)
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CANADA
Kingfisher: A new plane is ready to come to the rescue
For Want of Frigates – The Multi-Mission Corvette Project Visions & Options Series (Editor – Second paper in this CMSN series)
Editor – St. Francis Xavier University, in partnership with the University of Calgary, secured a 2024 DND MINDS grant to establish the Canadian Maritime Security Network (CMSN). The network has been up and running for about seven months now and is already producing some great work. They are now trying to formalize their network of experts and researchers and would be honoured if you would join them. There is no commitment required on your part, only consent to have your bio on their website. This formalized network list will help them assemble research teams and invitation lists for future events while facilitating internal networking. If you’re willing to join them, please complete the form at this link: https://forms.gle/6qCweToV2EtukEfJ9It They are very happy to support events and research projects proposed by our members so please keep that in mind and reach out if there is anything that they can do to support you and your work.
110th anniversary of “In Flanders Fields” (Editor – written by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae 3 May 1915) and Commemoration 25 years of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Editor – in Ottawa 28 May 2025)
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Sub-Standard Submarines (Editor – Esprit de Corps flawed but biting 5:35 min video) while Canada’s sub replacement problem
NAC/CMSN A Life-Cycle Costing Case Study Howie Smith, Ian Parker, Griffin Cudmore-Keating, and Adam Lajeunesse
New Canadian Tankers to Shuttle Oil Products to East Coast Ports
Editor – The National Association of Federal Retirees (Federal Retirees) is the largest national advocacy organization representing active and retired members of the federal public service, Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and retired federally appointed judges, their partners and survivors. To JOIN
NAC Naval Affairs The Protecteur-Class (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: April 28, 2025
Reconciliation Bill Calls for 16 New Battle Force Ships, $4.9B in Unmanned Vessels and Reconciliation Bill Calls for $14.6B in Coast Guard Cutters, New Arctic Icebreakers
‘Make American Ships Again:’ On Heels of Shipbuilding EO, Lawmakers Re-Introduce SHIPS Act
Navy Awards Up to $ 18.5B in Contracts for 2 Virginia-class Attack Subs, Workforce Development
Bollinger Approved to Start Full Construction of First Polar Security Cutter
U.S. regulator eyes Arctic shipping chokehold as key deadline approaches (Editor – contentious issue with implications for Canada’s north)
US Navy christens newest fleet replenishment oiler USNS Sojourner Truth
UPDATED: Super Hornet Assigned to USS Harry S. Truman Lost at Sea
Exclusive: Aging Guided- Missile Cruiser USS Cape St. George Modernized into One of U.S. Navy’s Most Lethal Warships (Editor – includes RUM-139 ASROC anti-submarine rockets in the Mk 41 launcher. I wonder if our Fraser Class will have ASROC? Useful capability and not expensive if put it in when built. The RCN already has the torpedoes)
Trump Says US Ships Need Free Travel Through Panama, Suez Canals
États-Unis : Donald Trump veut ouvrir l’extraction minière sous-marine
CIMSEC: The Caribbean Sea: A Strategic Area with Many US Allies and Partners
Manuever Warfare is More Than Rapid Movement (Editor – USNI 51:01 min podcast)
When the WORLD’s Largest carrier goes to WAR! ( Editor – packed with eye candy in a 11:56 min video)
Zombie Ships Are Fast Becoming a Feature of Venezuelan Oil Trade
LA port director says it faces steep drop in shipping (Editor – 1:00 min video)
New Docks Nearing Completion, Delivery to Grand Bahama Shipyard
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INDO-PACIFIC
China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress (Editor – lengthy and detailed read)
Beijing seizes tiny sandbank in South China Sea then Philippine Forces Land on Contested South China Sea Feature
Chinese Drones, Surveillance Aircraft Step Up Patrols Near Taiwan, Philippine Sea
PLA Navy’s Type 22 missile boat joins foreign warship interception, rights protection missions in South China Sea: report (Editor – this made me chuckle, “despite having been built some 20 years ago, continues to play meaningful roles”)
With Indo-Pacific undersea cables at risk, companies tout their tech
UPDATED: USS Nimitz in the Philippine Sea; U.S. Destroyer Makes Taiwan Strait Transit
Australia’s Ghost Shark: The AI Submarine Shaking Up Indo-Pacific Security (Editor – 8:13 min video)
CIMSEC: War Without Surprises: Education for Command in the PLA Navy
INS Vikrant successfully completes high- tempo operation phase in Arabian Sea
India signs deal to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France
L’Inde confirme sa commande de 26 avions Rafale marine à la France
North Korea Fires First Missile from New Warship and Kim Jong Un Wants More Nuclear Weapons on North Korean Warships and Russia May Have Helped North Korea With New Warship, Seoul Says
U.S. Marine Corps Trials Unmanned Logistics Concepts in the Indo-Pacific (Editor – includes 4:27 min video)
Indonesian Navy Seeks SOSUS-like Systems to Detect Foreign Submarines (Editor – this would raise so many classified issues!)
China, Vietnam Coast Guards successfully conclude first 2025 joint patrol in Beibu Gulf
China’s Type 004 Supercarrier Takes Shape: Surpassing the Ford? (Editor – a huge jump in capability explained in a 7:40 min video – but will their people keep up with the new gear?)
Austal launches 9th evolved Cape-class patrol boat for Australia
U.S., China and the Showdown Over an Indian Ocean Military Base | WSJ Coordinates (Editor – 7:05 min video)
China’s factories are in another world (Editor – a non-maritime but thought provoking 11:01 mi video)
China Floats Second Large Domestically-Built Cruise Ship
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Russia announces 3-day Ukraine war ceasefire next week for WW II commemoration
Lesson from Ukraine: Our fighting doctrine is fatally flawed because our “precision” weapons fail (Editor – blunt perspective in an 8:51 min video)
Ukraine Says It Detained Grain Ship From Russia’s ‘Shadow Fleet
N Korea confirms it sent troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine war
General:
Russian nuclear submarine hits coastal target from distance of over 1,100 km during drills
Denmark Allocates Funds for Coastal Missile Battery Procurement (Editor – in time of war this would close the Baltic off if it wasn’t already. No Nelson at Copenhagen!)
French Carrier Strike Group Returns from 5-Month Deployment
HMS Richmond’s Merlin is in a bit of a tight spot on CSG25 – but it’s worth the squeeze
L’espoir est « désormais nul » : 24 h après la disparition d’un marin, les recherches sont arrêtées
CNE Feature: Going Dutch: The Netherlands’ Approach To Maintaining And Building Submarines (Editor – this isn’t a direct link but there are some members who would like to go through the process to gain access)
Royal Navy establishes new Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office
BAYRAKTAR TB3 UCAV Completes Four Successful Autonomous Sorties aboard TCG Anadolu (Editor – includes 1:35 min video)
Protecting maritime infrastructure from attack: new technologies and tactics
OCCAR: First MNS live firing from ROV completed
French Navy tests one-way attack USV against target at sea
Turkish Navy Commander confirms plan to develop nuclear-powered submarines after actual Reis-class
US approves $2.19bn sale of Tomahawk missiles to Netherlands
Denmark Plans $1 Billion War Insurance for Merchant Shipping
The race to sanction Russia’s growing shadow fleet with In a further blow to Russia’s shadow fleet, EU now requires all vessels to be insured hence Russia Reflags, Renames Sanctioned ‘Shadow Fleet’ LNG Tankers Ahead of Suspected Arctic LNG 2 Startup
Europe Buys 80 Percent of US LNG in April, Replacing Russian Supplies Down One-Third
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
Operation Rough Rider – 45 Days, 1,000 Targets, No End in Sight
Houthis Get “Soft Kill” on U.S. Navy Jet (Editor – Oops explanation in an 8:19 min video)
UKMTO Warns of Commercial Vessels Being Detained at Houthi-Controlled Ras Isa Port
US Treasury Targets Three Tankers for Delivering Oil Products to Houthi-Controlled Ports
General:
Huge blast at key Iranian port kills 28 and injures 800 (Editor – includes 9 sec video) then Iran Still Battling Port Fire As Death Toll, Casualties Rise eventually Fire at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port Contained as Death Toll Rises (Editor – “death toll…rose to at least 65, with over 1,200 injured)
Activists say ship aiming to sail to Gaza was attacked by drones
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
USCGC Calhoun Makes Major Cocaine Seizure in Atlantic Ocean
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Battle of Coronel 1914 – British Navy Underestimated the Germans (Editor – a superior 16:40 min video. 1 November 1914, the four RCN midshipman that were killed are mentioned. These four midshipmen were from the first class to graduate from the Royal Naval College of Canada (established in 1911 soon after the founding of the RCN)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
3 May 1937 A Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) half-company was authorized in Thunder Bay (Port Arthur at the time) and later developed into HMCS Griffon, the current local Naval Reserve unit.
3 May 2010 Petty Officer 2nd Class Craig Blake, a clearance diver killed by an improvised explosive device in the Panjwaii District, Afghanistan on the eve of the RCN’s Centennial. Only two weeks into his first tour of the country as an explosive ordnance disposal operator, he was returning to camp after successfully disposing of another IED when the blast went off.
4 May 1910 The Canadian Navy, in 1911 re-designated as the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), is authorized after Royal assent is given to the Naval Service Act of Canada.
4 May 1911 Her Majesty’s Dockyard Esquimalt is transferred from British to Canadian authorities.
4 May 1943 A Canso from RCAF Squadron 5 sank U-209 in the North Atlantic, and a Wellington from RCAF Squadron 407 sank U-846 in the Bay of Biscay.
4 May 1945 The cruiser HMCS Uganda sails with an American task force to bombard Japanese airfields as part of the Okinawa campaign.
5 May 2013 The national flag had replaced both the White Ensign at the ensign staff and the Canadian Blue Ensign at the jack staff in 1965, and the national flag remained the ensign of Canadian Forces’ ships after the introduction of the new jack. Effective May 5, 2013 (Battle of the Atlantic Sunday), the two flags switched roles: the white flag with the maple leaf canton became the ensign, and the national flag became the jack.
6 May 1944 HMCS Valleyfield, a River-class frigate, is torpedoed and sunk by the U-548 off Newfoundland with the loss of 125 of 164 crew. The Valleyfield, only six months in commission, was hit and split in two while protecting the flank of a large convoy returning from England. She was the only RCN ship of her class to be lost.
7 May 1945 – The SS Avondale Park was built by Foundation Marine in Pictou, Nova Scotia and was delivered to the Government of Canada (Park Steamship Co.) on 15 May 1944. With a British crew and a cargo of timber and pulpwood, her first sailing was eastbound in convoy HX-292 (132 merchant ships and 27 escorts) which departed Halifax on 22 May. Shortly after her arrival in the Tyne coal mining port, on 10 June the ownership of the ship was transferred to the UK Ministry of War Transport “C. & S.S. Division, for Coastal Services” as a “coaster” collier to be managed by the Witherington & Etheridge Company. A year later, in the early evening hours of 7 May 1945, with DEMS gunners manning her aft gun, the Avondale Park departed Methil (near Edinburgh, Scotland). She was bound for Belfast in convoy EN-491 (5 merchant ships and 3 Royal Navy armed trawler escorts). The convoy was only about 17 miles from Methil when the Avondale Park was sunk by the second of two torpedoes fired by U-2336. A few moments later, the U-boat then sunk the Norwegian SS Sneland I with a single torpedo. The only casualties were 2 crew members from the Avondale Park. The Canadian SS Avondale Park and the Norwegian SS Sneland I were the final merchant ships sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic. A signal had been sent to all U-boats on 4 May 1945 ordering them to surrender but U-2336 had not received the signal.
7 May 1989 Originally oil rig support vessels, purchased in 1989 the minesweepers auxiliaries HMCS Anticosti (MSA 110) and Moresby (MSA 112) commissioned into the RCN to gain experience before the arrival of the Kingston class ships. The plan was for these ships to be the first step, followed by the Kingston Class, and the third step was a purpose build mine warfare class. Time, funding, and technological advances precluded this third step. They two ships were paid off 21 Mar and 10 Mar 2000 respectively.
8 May 1942 The SS Mont Louis (Hall Corporation of Canada, Montreal) was in transit from Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) bound for Trinidad, with a cargo of bauxite for onward shipping to American and Canadian aluminum smelters. Over the past two months, the Mont Louis had made six such round-trip deliveries of bauxite to Trinidad. U-162 sighted the Mont Louis steaming without running lights. The U-boat stalked the unescorted ship for about two hours until achieving the optimum range and aspect for targeting and fired a single torpedo which slammed into the engine room. The U-boat commander’s log recorded that the explosion was followed by “dark black cloud development, which immediately enveloped the entire ship’s length”. When the heavy smoke cleared, “nothing was seen of the steamer”. She was sunk about halfway between Paramaribo and Trinidad. Thirteen crewmembers were killed. While obscured by the smoke, the master and seven crewmembers had successfully abandoned ship. They were rescued by the Canadian two-masted schooner SV Mona Marie which landed them at Georgetown, British Guiana on 10 May.
8 May 1942 U Boat 553 is the first enemy submarine to enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence to attack Canadian shipping.
8 May 1967 The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act is given Royal assent and begins the process of unification of the previously separate RCN, Canadian Army, and RCAF.
9 May 1918 Lieutenant (RNVR) Rowland Bourke was commanding Motor Launch 276 when the events that would earn him a Victoria Cross occurred. The British had attempted an operation to block the port of Ostend, Belgium so it could not be used by the Germans who were occupying it. In the aftermath of the overnight daring but bloody naval assault, Bourke took his ship into the enemy harbour to look for any remaining survivors of the raid. Lt Bourke was born in London, England and emigrated to Canada in 1902. A naturalized Canadian he was the only Canadian Naval VC winner during WW1, and one of only four Canadians serving in or with the RCN/RN to be VC recipients. He is buried in Royal Oak cemetery, Victoria BC.
9 May 1941 – SS Esmond (Newfoundland registry) suffered no casualties after being torpedoed by U-110 and sinking between Iceland and Greenland.
9 May 1942 MV Calgarolite had nobody killed after being torpedoed by U-125 50 miles southwest of Grand Cayman Island, Caribbean.
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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