NAC News – Edition 617 (Stradacona)
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of May 16th, 2025
Edition: 617 HMCS Stadacona II/HMC Signal School Quote: “Across the Western world, a generational shift in defence and security policy is underway. The so-called “peace dividend” that followed the Cold War, when countries reduced military spending to invest in domestic priorities, is now history. In the words of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, we now need to prepare for the defence dividend”…”As Starmer’s United Kingdom and Carney’s Canada move in parallel toward serious, sustained investments in defence, our allies are taking note. Credibility in NATO isn’t just about what you say. It’s about what you build, deploy, and sustain. Canada is finally moving in the right direction, but we need to keep going.” The Northern Front, Greg MacNeil, 9 May 2025.
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
REPEAT over the years The Memory Project (Editor – I was contacted recently and asked to canvas the NAC membership. The Memory Project is a volunteer speakers bureau that arranges for veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members to share their stories of military service at school and community events across the country. This is such a natural fit for our membership and goals of NAC. Please Become a Speaker)
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.
21 June 2025 Noon Ottawa time. NAC AGM For review here is the 2025 AGM webpage (note – info is good, but the documents at this site haven’t been populated yet) and last year’s 2024 AGM Link.
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
Trump wants to hear how allies plan to boost defence spending, NATO envoy says for perspective Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014-2024) (Editor – there are 32 member nations, 2/3rd already hit 2%)
Russia to Spend $6bn To Jumpstart Domestic Shipbuilding, Includes 130 Vessels for Arctic
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CANADA
Ottawa South MP David McGuinty named defence minister in Carney’s new cabinet
Canada Marks 80th Anniversary of Battle of the Atlantic
HMCS William Hall Departs for Operation CARIBBE & Le NCSM William Hall part pour l’opération CARIBBE
Retour du NCSM Margaret Brooke au terme d’un déploiement historique dans le cadre de l’opération PROJECTION & HMCS Margaret Brooke returns from historic Operation PROJECTION
Korean Hanwha ocean offers cutting-edge battery-powered KSS-III submarine to the Royal Canadian Navy (Editor – a 2:37 min video explaining the bid)
Leaked Canadian military report shows many new recruits are quickly leaving (Editor – people are always the toughest challenge to get right!)
CGAI: The Sovereign Imperative of Making Canadians Care About National Security
Canada plans Arctic military expansion as part of sovereignty push (Editor – CBC 2:07 min video) and CDAI What Does Securing the Arctic Look Like? (Editor – 47:13 min podcast) and Canada’s Arctic Strategy Falls Behind as Rivals Push Ahead
CDAI: Getting Defence Procurement Right – In a time of great power competition
Fednav CEO Paul Pathy Elected President of World’s Largest Shipping Association
Investigation underway after on-duty lighthouse keeper dies alone, west of Prince Rupert, B.C. and background on Triple Islands Lighthouse
Score awarded $89M contract By Irving Shipbuilding to support construction of River-class destroyers
Ontario Seeks Arctic Port on James Bay
First-ever cruise ship bunkered with LNG at the Port of Vancouver
Hoping to take a ferry this summer? Best to plan ahead, says B.C. Ferries
Sept-Îles sera le théâtre d’un impressionnant exercice militaire Canada-France samedi
NAC Naval Affairs Optimizing Military Housing – Making the CAF an Employer of Choice by LCdr Damien A. Ciotti (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: May 12, 2025
US starts mass production of advanced thermonuclear bombs — Department of Energy
USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul Confiscated More than 20 Bales of Cocaine Following Interdiction
Navy’s newest ship arrives at Naval Station Norfolk (Editor – impressive and flexible capabilities in a 1:43 min video)
Hegseth’s plan to trim US top ranks could hit more than 120 officers
Coast Guard Boat Crew Shoots Out Engine of Migrant Smuggling Boat
Video: Coast Guard Officers Arrest Three Smugglers in Dramatic Boarding
A bord du Mistral : une réception extraordinaire avec la Marine nationale !
US Navy air-launches next-gen missile from unmanned vehicle
Why Being Too Stealthy is Bad for Submarines (Editor – 14:54 min video)
Proposal to Base U.S. Ship Registry in Virgin Islands Gets Governor Support
Maritime EO and SHIPS Act Target Critical Gaps Blocking Military Vets from Merchant Marine Roles
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INDO-PACIFIC
Spooking the enemy: INS Vikrant led 36 ship fleet was in position o hit Karachi port; Brahmos equipped warships, submarines also used details Indian Navy Sent to North Arabian Sea to Deter Pakistan, Say Officials with China has spent billions developing military tech. Conflict between India and Pakistan could be its first major test not so fast! Pakistan, India agree to deal for immediate ceasefire following weeks of deadly clashes
PACFLEET CO: U.S. Committed to Partnerships, Exercising with Allies in Indo-Pacific
Candid Image Gives First Evidence of China’s Secretive Armed Underwater Drone
These New Chinese Ships Could Bring a D-Day-Style Invasion to Taiwan | WSJ Equipped (Editor – game-changer update in a 7:27 min video)
HMAS Sydney’s three-month journey through the region
China’s Research Vessels Are Drawing Attention in Neighbors’ Waters
PLAN vessels attend IMDEX Asia 2025 in Singapore (Editor – includes 50 sec video)
South Korea Drops F-35B Carrier, Opts for UAV Command Ship
Sous-marins : et si l’Australie achetait quand même français demain ?
Another Guided Missile Destroyer Under Construction on the East Coast
PLA Navy deploys AI in warship degaussing drill for first time: report
RAN commissions two new patrol boats
Singapore Strait tops piracy board in 2025 first quarter
China’s INSANE Ship Lift Over Mountains Leaves America Speechless (Editor – impressive achievement in a 8:00 min video)
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Putin says Russia and Ukraine should meet to negotiate ‘lasting peace’
Yielding Crimea Would Weigh Heavy on Ukraine
General:
Experts call for expansion of UK’s nuclear arsenal
Satellite images reveal massive upgrade at Nenoksa naval missile testing site
Estonia says Russia sent jet after attempt to stop sanction-breaking ship with Russian Jet Buzzes Estonian Forces in Gulf of Finland Shadow Tanker Showdown
Russian Navy to set up unmanned systems regiments — paper
Le monde des câbles sous-marins
Royal Navy’s first XLUUV formally named XV Excalibur
USNI: Managing Maritime (In)Security on NATO’s Northern Flank (Editor – 37:36 min video)
Head of Royal Navy suspended then Royal Marine, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins appointed First Sea Lord
Russian Navy’s Weakness in the Mediterranean Becomes Clear
France kicks off POLARIS 25 – French Navy’s largest exercise
Bleu ou blanc : pourquoi les uniformes de la Marine nationale changent-ils ?
Missiles flying off Scottish coast in huge exercise
South Korea Makes Strategic Entry into Poland’s Submarine Procurement Race
The hunt for Red October in warmer oceans – Climate change and anti-submarine warfare
UK Deploys SG-1 Fathom AI-Powered Underwater Drone to Counter Russian Submarine Threats
Israel, Greece to Offer Large Submarine Drone for Hellenic Navy
HMS Tyne shadows Russian submarine in the English Channel
German Navy names fourth follow-on K130 corvette in Hamburg
Finland Moves Ahead With New Icebreaker for Baltic Sea
UK Targets Russia’s Shadow Fleet in Largest-Ever Maritime Sanctions Package
Russia and China to Develop New Arctic Shipping Hubs, Putin Says During Xi Meeting
Hong Kong Ship Captain Detained Over 2023 Baltic Pipeline Damage
Sweden inaugurates its second onshore power facility for cruise vessels
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
HMS Prince of Wales: how dangerous is the Bab el Mandeb? (Editor – remember HMCS Ville de Québec is part of the group)
Egypt’s Suez Canal Offers 15% Discount For Big Container Ships to Win Back Trade
GPS Spoofing Suspected in Containership’s Grounding Near Jeddah Port ominously Pole Star Confirms GPS Interference Caused MSC ANTONIA Grounding (Editor – which idiots passed this technology along, and which idiots are using it?)
General:
US says latest round of nuclear talks with Iran were ‘encouraging’
Unmanned Boat Rams a Merchant Vessel off Iran
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
No water, no power – Port Sudan reeling after week of attacks
The Mariner’s Mirror Seapower Past & Present 1: Economic Warfare (Editor – 46:00 min podcast)
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Mothball Warships US Navy Ghost Fleet (Editor – 9:50 min video)
CIMSEC: Sea Control 572: arms for Russia with Andrew Boyd (Editor – 53:29 min podcast discuss his book, Arms for Russia and the Naval War in the Arctic, 1941-1945.)
The Last U-Boat Attack 1982 (Editor – 13:33 min video)
The Helmover Torpedo – The Battleship Eraser (Editor – this is different 31:52min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
17 May 1963 Approval is given for the RCN to begin work on the first Canadian military hydrofoil, HMCS Bras D’Or.
19 May 1845 The HMS Erebus with its sister ship HMS Terror sailed out of the river Thames, carrying 128 officers and men under the command of Sir John Franklin. Their mission: to locate and transit the fabled Northwest Passage, the long-sought pathway from Atlantic to Pacific through North America’s ice-strewn Arctic inlets. It would take until September 2014, a search team to find wreck of Erebus, sitting in just 11 meters (36 feet) of water. Two years later, another team found the almost-pristine wreck of Terror, in deeper water 30 miles from its companion.
19 May 1943 – SV Angelus sailed under the French tricolor for 19 years until on 11 May 1942 the ship was captured by the Canadian warship HMCS Prescott (K 161) whilst on the Grand Banks. She was sunk by shellfire from U-161 south of Nova Scotia. 8 crew were killed. (K161 captured her, and U-161 sank her)
20 May 1941 – The unescorted SS Rothermere (Newfoundland registry) was hit in the engine room by one torpedo from U-98 southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland. The ship sank by the stern after being hit for a second time. Rothermere had 18 crew members and three gunners killed. 32 crew members, one gunner and one passenger were picked up by the Icelandic steam merchant Bruarfoss and landed at Reykjavik.
21 May 1917 The Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) is established by Royal Charter. Today the commission is responsible for the commemoration of 1.7 million individuals – and care for graves, cemeteries, and memorials at 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries and territories. The Commission consists of six member countries – the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa.
21 May 1939 King George VI unveils the National War Memorial (known as “The Response”) in Ottawa. In his address to an estimated 100,000 persons who gathered to witness the ceremony, King George spoke of the symbolism of the memorial and the sacrifice to which it was dedicated: “The memorial speaks to her world of Canada’s heart. Its symbolism has been beautifully adapted to this great end. It has been well named “The Response.” One sees at a glance the answer made by Canada when the world’s peace was broken and freedom threatened in the fateful years of the Great War. It depicts the zeal with which this country entered the conflict.”
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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