NAC News – Edition 628 HMCS Bonaventure
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of August 1, 2025
NAC News Edition 628 HMCS Bonaventure Quote: “In an age of rising strategic competition, resource control and security challenges, the Indian Navy has become an essential instrument of national power projection, diplomacy and regional stability,”…”As the global powers endeavour to assert themselves in this region, where 80 per cent of the global trade flows, the Indian Navy needs to retain the stature of being the preferred security partner to the maritime threats that emerge and also the first responder in case of HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) missions,” Vice Admiral Deshmukh, Indian Navy, Chief of Materiel, 21 July 2025
Rod Hughes: Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (Comments welcome to help improve this service.) The content of this bulletin includes articles from entities not subject to the Official Languages Act (OLA). Consequently, these articles may be provided by the institution in only one official language, including the links, as we do not have the copyright to modify or translate them. Links to keep in touch with the NAC and RCN can be found at the bottom of this email. Contact 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
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. To register.
21–22 October 2025 ABCMI’s Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show at the Vancouver Convention Centre, this flagship event brings together leading companies from across Canada in the marine and defence sectors. See the website for our draft Programme and list of Exhibitors. Tickets are selling quickly; exhibit spaces are sold out.
4 November 2025 7.30 – 18.30 Ottawa time Deep Blue Forum 6th Annual Conference. Theme: The Future of the Submarine Enterprise – People Harnessing Technology, in a System of Systems. The National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa Super Early Bird Registration is Open! Contact The ticket discount code for NAC members is DB25_NAC
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
South Korea commits $150B to help revive US shipbuilding (Editor – last week there was an article when Japan committed $550 Billion to U.S. industries including strategic shipbuilding investment!) and Shipbuilder Importing South Korean Techniques to American Yard
Canadian Flag Raised at Vancouver Shipyards
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CANADA
Canadian Coast Guard welcomes the CCGS Baie des Chaleurs into service & La Garde côtière canadienne inaugure la mise en service du NGCC Baie des Chaleurs pic CCG welcomes the CCGS Baie des Chaleurs into service
The Navy Dividend – Nova Scotia Built The Navy and the Navy Built Nova Scotia (Editor – Thanks Al Munro for sending this in, a great perspective, although I’m Halifax born as I sit on the West Coast the points raised in this article also applies to Victoria in some similar ways)
Europe and Canada step up naval logistics
Royal Canadian Navy to start retiring Kingston-class warships: 3 based in Esquimalt (Editor – 2:26 min news video)
Canadian Army brigade commander steps down amid ‘Blue Hackle Mafia’ investigations and sadly Charging a soldier with terrorism may be a first, but Canadian military has history of extremism in its ranks and more precisely Top army commander says ‘completely unacceptable’ behaviour is eroding trust in the Canadian Forces
Non-Article 5 NATO Vigilance Medal Approved and Accepted
Obituary: Elsa Lessard 2 July 1922 – 22 July 2025 (Editor – not a NAC member but a WWII “WREN” intercepting German Naval signals)
First of its kind collaborative scientific expedition departs for the Antarctic
Commissionaires Canada celebrates 100th anniversary (Editor – BZ to Commissionaires and their Chief of Staff, NAC member Harry Harsch)
Premier calls for ‘fair treatment’ for ferry users in B.C. after Ottawa cuts fares in Eastern Canada
Canadian naval historian speaks out about retrieving shipwreck artifacts
Robert Allan to design electric tug for China’s Tianjin Port
SS Keewatin is the Museum Ship of the Year for 2025
Report on the Public Service Pension Plan for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2024 & Rapport sur le Régime de retraite de la fonction publique pour l’exercice terminé le 31 mars 2024
RCN: Our Navy Today: Volume 8 Issue 5 (Editor – note article about Cmdre Beth Vallis as new Commander for the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve. Beth is a NAC member)
Crow’s Nest Officer’s Club : Scuttlebutt Spring/Summer 2025 Editor – note page 6, the HMCS Bytown presentation to the Crow’s Nest Officers’ Club)
VAC: Salute July 2025
Lookout: 28 July 2025 Volume 70 Number 15 (English) (Française)
Trident: Monday 28 July 2025 (Bilingue)
NAC Naval Affairs NA Reading List (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: July 28, 2025
US, Japan may escalate situation in Bering Strait — Kremlin aide while U.S. Coast Guard Responds to Chinese Icebreaker ‘Xue Long 2’ on American Continental Shelf off Alaska
Getting faster ship production (Editor – déjà vu)
Bollinger Teams Up With Global Powerhouses to Fast-Track Icebreaker Production for U.S. Coast Guard
Bollinger Shipyards in talks to build 10+ new fast response cutters for US
Lockheed Martin Delivers 250th MK 48 Torpedo Guidance and Control Section
MARAD Awards $6.2 Billion in Contracts to Strengthen U.S. Strategic Sealift Capability
Newly Modified US Coast Guard Cutter Storis Prepares for Arctic Duty
Why the Tomahawk Missile is So Special (Editor – The Fraser Class will have a variant of Tomahawk. A new capability for Canada – excellent summary in a 11:30 min video)
Navy John Lewis (TAO-205) Class Oiler Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues for Congress
How Submarine Sailors Eat, Sleep & Survive for 3 Months Underwater (Editor – a great look at USN SSNs although other countries boats are included.)
Raytheon unveils new targeting system for US Navy’s helicopters
U.S. Navy Sets Sights on Fleet-Wide Family of Unmanned Ships and U.S. Navy Wants to Buy Combat-Ready USVs with Containerized Payloads
Coast Guard Offloads More than $74M in Illicit Drugs Interdicted in Eastern Pacific
Venture Global Secures Record $15.1 Billion Financing for CP2 LNG Project
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INDO-PACIFIC
Naval Dimensions of the Thai-Cambodian Conflict
China announces joint Pacific naval exercise with Russia in August and Chinese warships arrive in Russia’s Far East for joint Pacific naval exercise
Indian, Philippine Navies to Hold First South China Sea Joint Patrol
The Modern Chinese Navy: What Are Its Strengths and Weaknesses? (Editor – useful 20:23 min video) and China strengthens North Fleet air defense with new Type 052DM destroyers Heze and Zhumadian
Guided-missile Submarine USS Ohio Spotted in Australia
U.K., Australia Sign Treaty Ahead of Developing New AUKUS Attack Boat
North Korea plans to build another 5,000-ton destroyer
Navy redeploys 2nd fast-attack submarine to Pacific in a month (Editor – 4:02 min news video)
Indian Navy submarine fleet to get Air Independent Propulsion system for greater underwater endurance with Indian Navy may get nine advanced submarines under ₹1,00,000 Crores project; CCS not awaited: Report
INS Varsha: India’s secretive strategic maritime fortress for nuclear deterrence
Indonesia turns to Scorpene submarines to assert its maritime power in the Indo-Pacific
Krishna Defence and Allied Industries Ltd (KDAIL) developing Jalkapi extra-large unmanned submarine
HMAS Parramatta returns to the water
Japan Reports Rare Sighting of Chinese Navy Submarine Support Ship
China’s navy submarine academy recruits first female students in 72-year history
Singapore’s first all-electric cargo vessel aces smart navigation test
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Ukrainian Drones Target St Petersburg As Putin Attends Scaled-Down Navy Day
School-leavers losing their lives for Russia in Putin’s war with Ukraine
Russia’s Ust-Luga Port Orders Vessel Checks After Mystery Blasts
Baltic:
NATO turns Baltic region into area of military, political instability — presidential aide
Russia begins major naval drills in the Pacific and Arctic oceans and the Baltic Sea
Poland Secretly Tests US Naval Drone to Strengthen Special Operations in Baltic Sea
General:
Russia locates major naval exercise in previous disputed area of the Barents Sea
Russia prepares for naval confrontation with NATO by demonstrating new sea drone
Operation Sea Guardian Patrols Eastern Mediterranean Sea Enhancing Maritime Situational Awareness
In focus: Royal Navy minesweeping capability restored
RFA Argus stuck in Portsmouth deemed unsafe to sail
Fincantieri Delivers Multi-Purpose Frigate to Italian Navy and Fincantieri Reports Record Backlog with Deliveries Scheduled Through 2036
Belgian Navy first new MCM vessel ‘Oostende’ completes sea trials
HMS Trent back in home port after five years of busting drugs and shadowing Russians and HMS Trent tests new helicopter landing system ahead of Caribbean deployment
TKMS New Submarine Production Facility in Kiel (Editor – 9:33 min video)
Turkey’s Insane Naval Aircraft Carrier (Editor 22:38 min video)
Denmark to expand Arctic surveillance with purchase of long-range drones
Russia must safeguard Transarctic Transport Corridor — presidential aide while ‘Newnew Polar Bear’ Containership Set to Return to Europe via Arctic After 2023 Balticconnector Incident
Russia’s Oil Shipments Have Quietly Slumped Over the Past Year
Moscow threatens Oslo over Barents fisheries
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
Yemen’s Houthis Threaten To Target Ships Linked To Firms Dealing With Israeli Ports
General:
Third Dolphin II SSK for Israeli Navy Begins Sea Trials
Royal Navy Plans to Withdraw its Sole Frigate in Bahrain details UK surrenders maritime security role in the Middle East
Iranian Navy Limps Back Into Bandar Abbas
Suez Canal Expansion: The Unprecedented Project To Widen The Canal (Editor – excellent 51:43 min video)
U.S. Targets Iranian Shipping Empire in Largest Sanctions Crackdown Since 2018
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
Inside the World’s Toughest Icebreakers (Editor – great explanation, 10:59 min video)
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Black Tot Day: The end of the rum ration
USNS Card: the Last U.S. Aircraft Carrier Sunk by an Enemy
US vs Canada Pig War (Editor – 60 sec video)
HMCS Quebec (Editor – 4:53 min video)
The World’s Northernmost Island Archipelago (Editor – amazing 10:36 min video)
The Only Attack on US Soil During the First World War (Editor – 2 Min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
2 August 1943 A Hampton from RCAF Squadron 415 while on patrol sank U-706 in the North Atlantic. The sinking is shared with a USAF Liberator.
2 August 1951 HMCS Athabaskan sailed for its second tour in Korean waters.
2 August 1990 Gulf War begins in the Middle East; Canadians later take part in the conflict.
4 August 1910 The Rainbow was commissioned as an H.M.C. ship at Portsmouth as the first warship in the RCN. She was manned by a nucleus crew supplied by the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Reserve. The Rainbow was a light cruiser of the Apollo class, and the Canadian Government paid £50,000 for her and assigned her to the west coast.
4 August 1914 War is declared between Great Britain and Germany. Canada is automatically at war with Germany as well. HMC ships placed under Admiralty operational control.
4 August 1943 A Sunderland from RCAF Squadron 423 sank U-489 west of the Faroes.
5 August 1914 Two submarines, later designated CC-1 and CC-2, are purchased for the RCN by the Premier of British Columbia in Seattle, Washington. Commissioned into the RCN 7 August.
5 August 1944 HMCS Iroquois commanded by Cdr James C. Hibbard, DSC, RCN, with HMCS Haida commanded by Cdr Harry G. DeWolf, DSO, RCN, and other allied forces, sank German minesweepers M-263 and M-486.
6 August 1942 RCN destroyer HMCS Assiniboine commanded by A/LCDR John H. Stubbs, DSO, RCN, pursues and rams German submarine U-210 in the fog, finally sinking her with a 4.7 inch shell. While Assiniboine was maneuvering to ram the U-Boat A/CPO RCNVR Max Bernays, Assiniboine’s Coxswain ordered his telegraph operators who were giving orders to the engine room to leave, as the fire began to surround the wheelhouse. Bernays manned the helm and did the work of the two telegraph operators while the CO gave orders to ram U-210. As the gun battle grew in intensity Assiniboine rammed U-210 abaft of her conning tower, crippling the submarine. 38 of the 48 German crew were rescued. Assiniboine’s losses were minimal, with one killed and 13 wounded. Bernays, although nominated for the Victoria Cross, was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his heroic actions. HMCS Max Bernays is named in his honour.
6 August 1944 On 5 August 1944, a force comprising the cruiser Bellona and the destroyers Tartar, Ashanti, Haida, and Iroquois engaged and sank the German minesweepers M 263 and M 486 and the patrol boat V 414, coastal launch Otto from a German convoy north of Île d’Yeu. Iroquois was responsible for the sinking of two of the vessels. On 14 August, Iroquois joined the destroyer Ursa and cruiser Mauritius to attack a German force off Les Sables d’Olonne and sank Sperrbrecher 157; they also badly damaged M 275 and ran M 385aground. On 22–23 August Mauritius, Ursa and Iroquois sank V 702, V 717, V 720, V 729, and V 730 off Audierne.
7 August 1975 Pierre Trudeau announces that Canada will seek agreement to set up 370 km (200-mile) economic coastal zone.
8 August 1813 US Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s ships Hamilton and Scourge capsize in minutes in a heavy gale off Forty Mile Creek on Lake Ontario, and 53 sailors drown; the ships were putting on extra sail to escape British Captain James Yeo’s fleet and sank from a shift in weight of the guns; largest loss of life suffered by the United States Navy in the war. Yeo did not see the disaster happen and did not press his advantage.
8 August 1944 German U-boat U-667 torpedoes and sinks RCN Flower Class corvette HMCS Regina off Trevose Head, Cornwall, UK; thirty of her ship’s company are lost. Between 1939 and 1945, 36 Flower-Class corvettes were lost between the four navies operating them, of which 22 were torpedoed by enemy U-boats. On the balance sheet the RCN sank 33 Axis submarines, 30 German and 3 Italian. For perspective, during World War II Germany built 1,162 U-boats, of which 785 were destroyed and the remainder surrendered (or were scuttled to avoid surrender) at the capitulation. Of the 632 U-boats sunk at sea, Allied surface ships and shore-based aircraft accounted for the great majority (246 and 245 respectively).
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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