NAC News – Edition 641 HMCS Griffon
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of October 31, 2025
Edition 641 HMCS Griffon Quote: “Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong called for immediate action to promote trade liberalisation and protect global common interests, as he warned the world to expect a “messy” transition to a post-American order. In an interview at his office in the city-state, PM Wong said the world was in the middle of a great transition that could take a decade to play out. “There is no doubt it will be messy and unpredictable because America is stepping back from its role as global insurer, but there’s no other country that is able or willing to fill the vacuum,” he said. Singapore, a major beneficiary of the post-war era of globalisation and multilateralism, could not afford to “wait for things to happen or hope that things magically will fall into place”, he added. Action must be taken now, PM Wong said, in “building new trade connections and keeping up the momentum of trade liberalisation”. “We can’t do it alone, but we will do it with other like-minded countries.’” Singapore’s prime minister warns of ‘messy’ transition to post-American order, Roula Khalaf and Owen Walker, The Business Times, Published Fri, Oct 24, 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. Consequently, these articles may be provided by the institution in only one official language, including the links, and 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 naccoordinator@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)
NOTICES
25 November 2025 CMSN: Northern Maritime Security – Threats In, To, and Through the Arctic and North Atlantic. Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa. Conference program coming soon
24 February 2026 ShipTech Forum 2026, The National Arts Centre. 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1 (Editor – NAC helps sponsor this event) Super Early Bird Registration is Open!
13-15 May 2026 NIBC 2026 Conference – Maritime Arctic Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour hotel, Victoria BC. (Editor – NAC-VI helps sponsor this event)
15 May 2026 HMCS Sackville – Re-commissioning. Details to follow!
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
Carney tours newly completed South Korean sub as Canada weighs multibillion-dollar order plus Carney tours Hanwha Ocean shipyards in South Korea (Editor – CP 1:51 min video) and PM Carney meets with President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung
Trump directs Pentagon to resume nuclear testing for first time since 1992
CANADA
Battle of the subs: Who will win Canada’s multi-billion dollar submarine competition?
Subs could be built in Canada, but not anytime soon: TKMS while Analyst says Ottawa should pick German sub builder over South Korean rival
HMCS Edmonton and Yellowknife return from Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures in Europe
RCN Begins Exercise VIPERFISH MERCY 2025 in Halifax
Hard Work and Heavy Seas: RCN Welcomes New Clearance Divers & Un travail difficile dans une mer agitée : la MRC accueille de nouveaux plongeurs-démineurs
Canadian Armed Forces apologizes for racial discrimination and harassment
Le Centre de soutien et de ressources sur l’inconduite sexuelle finance 21 nouveaux projets dans le cadre du Programme de subventions pour le soutien communautaire pour les personnes survivantes d’inconduite sexuelle & The Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre funds 21 new projects through the Community Support for Sexual Misconduct Survivors Grant Program
Sanctions-evading Russian oil ships could pollute the Arctic, PM’s adviser warns
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Room for Improvement ? (Editor – Esprit de Corps 5:06 min video)
Début de la construction d’un navire hybride diesel-électrique de la Garde côtière canadienne et achèvement du dernier navire de recherche et sauvetage de la classe Baie & Construction begins on Canadian Coast Guard diesel-electric hybrid vessel as the final Bay Class search and rescue vessel is completed
CDAI: Recruiting and Housing in the CAF (Editor – 24:55 min podcast)
Tim Cook, chief historian at Canadian War Museum, dies at 54
CBSA seizes hundreds of litres of precursor chemicals from China used to produce fentanyl & L’ASFC saisit des centaines de litres de précurseurs chimiques en provenance de la Chine utilisés pour produire du fentanyl
L’ASFC saisit plus de 2,2 millions de dollars en cigarettes de contrebande & CBSA seizes over $2.2 million in contraband cigarettes
Cargoship ‘Thamesborg’ Arrives in Eastern Canada After 10-week Odyssey, Grounding in Arctic
Rival container terminal proposals create tension at Port of Vancouver
Greater Victoria Harbour Authority abandoning shore-power plan for cruise ships
Editor – Repeat: Christmas is coming and here is a great new gift idea from NAC member Rich Gimblett who co-authored Guardians of the North: Canadian Warships and Maritime Aircraft, 1910–2025! I hear its extraordinarily well researched and a good read! Don’t forget to tell Santa.
Editor – along with Rich’s book above, the NAC still has some of its children’s and youth books in stock if you’re thinking of family Christmas presents. More information to follow next month but for any questions please email Nora Kennedy naccoordinator@navalassoc.ca.
NAC Naval Affairs: Bibliography RCN The First Word War (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: Oct. 27, 2025
Trump Administration Conducts First Nighttime Strike Against Drug Traffickers in Caribbean then Venezuela’s Maduro says US ‘fabricating war’ as it deploys world’s largest warship details Trump Adds to Military Buildup in Caribbean With Ford Carrier Deployment
U.S. Military Strikes 10th Suspected Narco Boat Killing Six, Pentagon Says then US kills 14 in strikes on four alleged drug boats in Pacific and continue U.S. says it has destroyed another alleged drug ship in Pacific, killing all on board
The Mixed Messages of Sending USS Gerald Ford to the Caribbean
HII CEO: New Agreement for 15 Submarines Could be Done by End of Year
‘Stupid electric’: Trump pushes old steam launch tech as China modernizes catapults
Trump Says South Korea to Build Nuclear Submarine at Philadelphia Shipyard Lacking the Capability
‘What’s Going on With Shipping ‘ Testifies on Sea Change: Reviving Commercial Shipbuilding (Editor – I include his informed podcasts from time to time 5:34 min video)
USNI: The Nimitz Way and Modern SWO Readiness: Preparing for the High-End Fight (Editor – 34:14 min video)
U.S. warship docks in Trinidad and Tobago, putting more pressure on Venezuela
White House Nominates Lunday to Lead Coast Guard, Other Senior Leaders Tapped for New Roles
Navy Probes USS Nimitz Fuel Supply After Crashes, Trump Points to ‘Bad Fuel’
HD Hyundai Heavy, Huntington Ingalls To Jointly Build U.S. Navy Ships
Mystery donor gives $130m to US military to pay troops during shutdown (Editor – what a strange way to run a railroad)
First Columbia-class Sub 60% Complete, Next Year ‘Pivotal,’ Says General Dynamics CEO
Tomahawk Missile – How is it Nearly 50 Years Old and Still Going Strong? (Editor – background in a 16:03 min video)
CIWS Phalanx Gun: The Ultimate Solution to Defend US Aircraft Carriers (Editor – 16:18 min video)
The Carrier Flight Deck You Don’t See in Movies (Editor – cool different perspective in a 12:13 min video)
From Ballpark to Battlespace: Applying Moneyball to Fleet Design
U.S. Container Imports Plunge 6.6% in September as Tariff Fallout Takes Hold then U.S. and China Suspend Tit-for-Tat Port Fees By One Year
INDO-PACIFIC
Philippines Marines Apprehend Chinese Fishing Boat at Second Thomas Shoal (Editor – what the @#&* is destructive fishing?)
North Korea says it test-fired cruise-missiles hours ahead of Trump’s arrival in South Korea
Royal United Service Institute of New South Wales: Speaker RAdm Rear Christopher Smith AM CSM RAN (Editor – 1:20:38 hr video presentation)
CIMSEC: China’s Coming Small Wars
Unusual Black Trimaran Drone Ship Spotted In Chinese Shipyard
‘We’ve got a real problem’: Ret. 4-star General slams Trump’s speech to troops (Editor – difficult to obtain politically unbiased reporting, let the President speak for himself and you can be the judge in this 4:42 min video)
Australia is all in on AUKUS. In Donald Trump’s America, it’s more complicated while Australia expand maintenance responsibilities on USS Vermont
US Navy helicopter and fighter jet crash in separate incidents in the South China Sea
Japan’s AEGIS Evolution — Maya-Class Destroyers Explained (Editor – 21:28 min video)
Pakistan’s New Hovercrafts Redefine Speed and Reach in Coastal Defenses
U.S., Indian Navies Conduct Bilateral Training Near Diego Garcia
Cochin Shipyard Delivers Mahe, 1st Indigenous Anti-Submarine Vessel To Navy
India approves new naval procurements to boost defense capabilities
Indonesian Navy Commissions Its First Hybrid-Propulsion Warship
Japan and U.S. Expected to Sign Shipbuilding Pact Amid China Challenge
EUROPE
Black Sea:
Ukraine’s Intelligence Unit Accepts Magura V7 Sea Drone Funded by Charity Drive
Ukraine unveils Sea Baby USV armed with rockets and machine gun
Romanian minehunter crew complete Royal Navy training
Baltic:
Something terrifying is happening in Denmark (Editor – way beyond just drones in a 15:37 min video)
The West needs to draw the line on Russian, Chinese grey-zone provocations (Editor – this article applies to several regions)
General:
Is the Russian Navy a capable threat?
Putin says Russia’s nuclear-armed underwater drone was tested successfully
France’s Third-Generation M51.3 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile Enters Service
German P-8 Aircraft Head to U.K. Air Base to Track Russian Subs
Royal Navy aircraft carriers: more than strike platforms
UK to build New Flower-class corvette vessels to increase anti-submarine warfare capabilities (Editor – CDC Project contender, echo in history? 8:03 min video)
Germany’s Ship-Mounted Laser Weapon Blasts Past 100 Live Shots, Targets 2029 Rollout
World’s first: Quantum optical clock tested on underwater autonomous sub
OCCAR Delivers a new Mine Warfare USV to France
OCCAR at Sea Future 2025 (Editor – 4:56 min video)
TKMS to deliver mine hunting sonars for German Navy’s minehunters
Norway Launches Industrial Plan for Next-Gen Frigate Fleet
Algerian Navy corvette ANS Adhafer spotted in UK harbour in rare visit
Stena Immaculate Sold for Repairs After Fatal North Sea Collision
MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea/Gulf of Aden:
British aircraft carrier strike group enters Red Sea and RFA Tidespring’s unstinting support to Carrier Strike Group
Continuing Interceptions of Houthi Contraband Cargoes Highlights Weaknesses
Indian Navy Aids in Firefight and Recovery of Burning LPG Carrier off Yemen
Somali piracy has waned, so why is China’s navy still in the Gulf of Aden?
General:
Israel’s Undersea Arsenal #military (Editor – 1 Min video)
Carrier Strike Group 25 says sayonara to a Japanese ship as US vessel expected to join
GLOBAL INTERESTS
Kenya Navy at the sharp end of massive Indian Ocean drug bust
Container Shipping’s Recycling Backlog Reaches 1.8 Million TEU as Industry Faces Fleet Age Crisis
Shipping Industry Reaffirms Support for IMO as Global Regulator Following Carbon Pricing Delay
SCUTTLEBUTT
How Capable Was The Royal Canadian Navy In WW2? (Editor – first-rate compact summary in a 8:17 min video)
The Factory That Floated — America’s Dry Docks Turned the Pacific Into One Giant Repair Yard (Editor – lessons for modern times in a 18:57 min video)
Naval Engineering – How to choose your engines (Editor – 35:46 min video)
When A-4 Skyhawks Sank the British (Editor – interesting details in a 12:27 min video)
The 400mph Sub Killer That Sucked (Editor – silly title…the S2 was a great aircraft in a 25:01 min video)
The Invention of the Depth Charge – Kaboom? Yes Jellicoe, Kaboom! (Editor – 29:36 min video)
When 1 Destroyer Fought 14 Japanese Ships (Editor – 12:01 min video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
1 November 1914 Battle at Coronel A brass plaque at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Esquimalt, BC, is dedicated to the four ex-cadets of the Royal Naval College of Canada and men of Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Good Hope who were killed in action in 1914. Four cadets of the first class of the Royal Naval College of Canada, were the first Canadian Navy casualties in WWI. Midshipman Malcolm Cann, Midshipman John V.W. Hatheway, Midshipman William Archibald Palmer, and Midshipman Arthur Wiltshire Silver, died when the British warship HMS Good Hope went down with no survivors, sunk by the German navy. These casualties were avenged 8 December at the Battle of the Falkland Islands.
1 November 1920 Three British ships, Aurora, Patriot, and Patrician are officially commissioned into the RCN at Portsmouth.
1 November 1941 Reserve Divisions are commissioned as HMCS, local names chosen for each.
2 November 2001 RCN began anti-terrorism duties in the Arabian Sea.
5 November 1962 A fire heavily damages the prototype hydrofoil Bras d’Or under construction in Quebec.
6 November 1940 HMCS Ottawa (I) commanded by Cdr E. Rollo Mainguy, RCN with HMS Harvester sank the Italian Submarine Comandante Faà di Bruno after it attacked Convoy HX-84 in the North Atlantic.
6 November 1990 CAF establishes a headquarters under Commodore Kenneth J. Summers in Manama, Bahrain, part of Canada’s contribution to the Persian Gulf War.
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