NAC News – Edition 649 HMCS North Bay
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of December 26, 2025
Edition 649 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! HMCS North Bay Quote: “Everyone is talking of Ukraine as the loser when it now has the most potent military in Europe. Just think what they have done to Russia. It is remarkable they have held off for so long not least fighting with one hand behind their back.” BBC, Fionna Hill. 14 December 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.
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NOTICES
Editor – a reminder to members that for those that haven’t done so already please renew your 2026 annual membership, preferably through NAC national process to simplify the financial and tax receipt aspects, but through your branch if you must.
24 February 2026 ShipTech Forum 2026, The National Arts Centre. 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa. Not able to attend in person – all speaker sessions will be live streamed, to facilitate virtual attendance. (Editor – NAC helps sponsor this event. Early Bird Registration is Open! Discount code for NAC members to use for their tickets is STF26_NAC)
4/5 March 2026 CDAI 2026 Ottawa Conference, Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel, Ottawa (Editor – save the date, details to follow)
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 The CNMT has indicated that to mark the 85th anniversary of the launch of HMCS Sackville (English) & (Française) that she will be ceremonially re-commissioning back into the RCN. Details to follow)
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
Putin vows no more wars if West treats Russia with respect
Carney is re-investing in the Canadian military amid sovereignty tensions with U.S. (Editor – 3:44 min CTV video)
Repeat Editor – The latest Fall 2025 STARSHELL is now available on the NAC National Website under Naval Affairs
CANADA
Navy crew home for the holidays after history making mission (Editor – 1:35 min CTV video)
Canada’s 30-year-old frigate completes mission under largest overseas military op officially HMCS St. John’s returns from Operation REASSURANCE & Le NCSM St. John’s revient de l’opération REASSURANCE
HMCS Max Bernays returns home after historic deployment & Le NCSM Max Bernays rentre au pays à l’issue d’un déploiement historique (Editor – all RCN ships were home in time for Christmas)
Canada Eyes a Second Expedition to Antarctica
Our Navy Today Volume 8 Issue updated 9 2025-12-19
TKMS teams up with Canadian manufacturer on Type 212CD submarine segments
Sailor speaks out after dramatic rescue (Editor – 2:33 min CTV News video)
CSIS: What the New National Security Strategy Means for Naval Forces
Forging a Northern Shield: Canada and Iceland Formalize a New Era of Coast Guard Cooperation
For decades, Canada’s military had no combat uniforms designed for women. That’s about to change and Canada’s military is designing combat uniforms for women (Editor – 2:37 min video)
Watchdog questions if military police will fix problems of Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin investigation
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: There’s Nowhere Left to go but up! (Editor – Esprit de Corps 6:09 min video)
Use your vacation leave to avoid mandatory leave cash-out & Utilisez vos congés annuels pour éviter l’encaissement obligatoire des congés
DP World expands short sea shipping service at Port of Nanaimo
New marine firefighting training structure fully operational at Maplewood Fire & Rescue Centre
Comment: Consider context when critiquing B.C. Ferries
Mess Deck connections 25 December du Carré décembre 2025
HMCS Venture Association: December 2025 The Signal
NAC Naval Affairs: Bibliography Naval Aviation (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: Dec. 22, 2025
Caribbean Sea:
U.S. Navy Expands Military Deployment Near Venezuela with F-35s and Intelligence Aircraft
Trump warns Colombian president to shut down cocaine labs
US Apprehends Chinese Owned Tanker After Leaving Venezuela (Editor – 2:37 min video) China Says US Seizure of Ships ‘Serious Violation’ of International Law
US pursuing third oil tanker linked to Venezuela, official says with Blacklisted Tanker ‘Bella 1’ Has a Sanctions Past Linked to Terror Financing
PDVSA Turns Tankers Into Floating Storage as U.S. Ship Seizures Choke Exports
Venezuela Passes 20-Year Prison Law Targeting ‘Piracy’ and ‘Blockades’ After Tanker Seizures
General:
Trump Unveils New Battleship Class; Proposed USS Defiant Will Be Largest U.S. Surface Combatant Since WWII (Editor – 35,000 tons) Longer than Yamato, the Navy’s new $15B Super Battleships sets a new record and is the Most Genius (Editor – 8:02 min video) perhaps but Trump’s new battleship plan could transform the US Navy – or sink it
Navy Turns to Coast Guard Cutter Design for New Frigate Class and Navy Announces New Small Surface Combatant (Editor – 2:40 min video)
1 Dead in U.S. Strike on Suspected Narco Semi-submersible
HII Completes Hull Assembly for US Navy’s 29th Virginia Submarine associated The Submarine Bottleneck: Why US Nuclear Shipbuilding Needed Britain (Editor – 12:46 min video)
Hanwha Signals Philly Shipyard Ready to Build U.S. Nuclear Submarines
The Problem With Building Trump’s Golden Fleet (Editor – useful perspective in a 18:45 min video)
Message to the New CNO: The Navy Must Shift to a “Seven Seas at Once” Strategy
Inside the Ohio-Class: One Submarine That Can End a War in Minutes (Editor – 2:36 min video)
Brazil Gets HMS Bulwark for a Bargain Price
Aging Freighter Sinks at Anchor in Puerto Montt
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and adjoining seas:
First Look: Kim Signals New Era for North Korea’s Navy With Nuclear-Powered Submarine
Tokyo’s plan to boost coast guard including increasing patrol vessels amid military expansion moves particularly dangerous, further exposes militaristic ambition, expert warns (Editor – war of words continues)
Pentagon Annual Report on Chinese Military and Security Developments focus on China Wants Nine Aircraft Carriers by 2035, Says New Pentagon Report of course Pentagon report hyping China’s military buildup distorts facts, untrustworthy: expert
China Has Turned a Small Container Feeder Into an Arsenal Ship
Indonesia names KRI Balaputradewa, first of their Arrowhead 140-derived frigates
Why Japan’s Railgun Worked Where the U.S. Navy Failed (Editor – 19:10 min video)
Japan’s MHI launches final Mogami-class FFM for JMSDF
Chinese Buoys in the Yellow Sea
Reasons for Indonesian carrier
Australia’s undersea cable vulnerability
Indian Ocean and adjoining seas:
India Tests 3,500-km Range K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile from INS Arihant
President Trump Endorses Enhanced US-India Defence Ties, Boosting Quad Collaboration
Pakistan Navy Commissions PNS Khaibar in Istanbul, Marking Major Advance in Fleet Modernisation
International Fleet Review In Vizag In Feb 2026
INS Sindhughosh Decommissioned After 40 Years of Glorious Service: Navy
Russia Comes Forward For India Again: Putin Offers 3 Upgraded Submarines Instead of 1
Indonesian Navy welcomes second multipurpose combat ship in Italy
EUROPE
Black Sea and Caspian Sea:
Why Damaged Russian Kilo-Class Submarine Is Effectively a Total Loss with Satellites Reveal Truth of Lost Russian Submarine (Editor – wide ranging and slanted 32:02 min video)
Ukraine Disabled Russian Maritime Patrol Aircraft Before Submarine Strike
Drones Hit Piers and Ships at Russia’s Taman Black Sea Port
Russian strike kills 8 in Ukraine’s Odesa as Kremlin envoy heads to U.S. for truce talks with Russia escalates attacks on key Ukrainian region of Odesa
Another lesson from Ukraine for Taiwan’s friends: the power of surveillance
Ukraine Says It Hit Russian Oil Rig, Patrol Ship In Caspian Sea
The quiet war: What Ukraine taught me about modern conflict
Ukraine Warns Food Exports at Risk After Russia Drone Strikes on Ports
Canada Just Gave Ukraine Its Best Weapon Yet—Here’s Why (Editor – 10:36 min video)
Baltic Sea:
Military considers permanent bases in Latvia as part of Canada’s NATO commitment
Sweden Boards Sanctioned Russian Cargo Ship
Estonia Finds GENIUS Way to Trap Russia at Its Border (Editor – not a maritime 16:20 video but one that shows the level of preparations that are underway)
Autonomous Ocean Drone by Saab
General:
The King salutes the new generation of naval leaders at their Dartmouth parade (Editor – includes 1:29 min video)
In pictures: King and Queen host HMS Prince of Wales’s crew to celebrate CSG25 return
INTEL: Russia Confirms Development of Fifth-Generation Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine
HMS Glasgow Comes Alive: Type 26 Reaches Power-On Milestone (Editor – great summary in a 8:49 min video)
Russian shipbuilders deliver 19 ships, three subs to Navy in 2025
Why Is This Tiny Aircraft Carrier More Powerful Than Bigger Ships Editor – 2:00 min video) and then France launches construction of PA-NG next-generation nuclear aircraft carrier and Europe’s ‘Biggest’ Warship: France Kicks Off Construction of Next-Gen Aircraft Carrier
NATO Lacks Resilience To Fight A Long War, Naval Chief Warns
Ukraine Hits Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker In Mediterranean
Russian general killed in car bomb in Moscow, investigators say (Editor – not a maritime story, but another Russian general officer assassinated)
Türkiye enriches naval fleet with new Reis-class submarine and naval platforms
Kongsberg locks in combat system deal for six Type 212CD submarines
Largest torpedo order boosts Europe’s 212CD submarine fleet
Warship shoots down drone swarm off UK coast
German Navy to procure MQ-9B SeaGuardian for reconnaissance, ASW
Greece receives its first FDI frigate built by Naval Group (Editor – 8:00 min video)
French nuclear attack submarine arrives in Scotland
More than 800 migrants cross Channel in December record
This year’s last voyage on Northern Sea Route goes to sanctioned LNG terminal
Salt, sweat and tears: Royal Navy personnel pushed to the limit on World’s Toughest Row
MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden:
Maersk Tests Red Sea Waters With First Transit in Nearly Two Years with Big Boxships Return to Suez After Two-Year Hiatus
Somalis say foreign ships are stealing their fish, and it’s fuelling a piracy resurgence
General:
Royal Navy Hosts Mine Countermeasures Conference 2025
Iranian naval flotillas set sail for South Africa, Navy commander says and Iranian Navy Sends Out Two Flotillas – Destinations Uncertain
China to Develop New Port in Kuwait for Regional and Global Trade
GLOBAL INTERESTS
U.S. Launches Airstrike on Nigeria Likely Using Tomahawk Missile from Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyer
High Stakes in the High North: Harnessing Uncrewed Capabilities for Arctic Defense and Security
Global opinion collapses for United States and Israel. That’s a big problem in the resource race (Editor – not a maritime 10:19 min video, but one with strategic implications)
SCUTTLEBUTT
Halifax Citizens Were SHOCKED When Canada’s “Hero” Sailors Destroyed Their City After The War Ends (Editor – 29:03 min video)
The Mariner’s Mirror: The Naval Fiction Interviews: David Davies and Matthew Quinton (Editor – 33:00 min podcast)
Ironclads to Dreadnoughts: The Story of Naval Armor (Editor – 10:04 min video)
The last of the U-boats is scuttled
Naval Engineering – Building a Wooden Warship, Timber, Nails and Curves! (Editor – 28:46 min video)
How Japan Won World War I (Editor – 20:14 min video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
27 December 1942 HMC Ships St. Laurent commanded by LCdr Guy S. Windeyer, RCN, with HMCS Chilliwack, commanded by LCdr Clifton P. Coughlin, RCNVR, with HMCS Battleford commanded by Lt F.A. Beck, RCNVR, and HMCS Napanee commanded by Lt L.S. Henderson, RCNVR and other escorts in a melee sank the German submarine U-356 in the mid-Atlantic.
27 December 1944 HMCS St. Thomas commanded by LCdr Leslie P. Denny, RCNR in company with HMCS Sea Cliff commanded by LCdr J.E. Harrington, RCNVR directed St. Thomas onto her ASDIC contact and sank the German submarine U-877 in the North Atlantic.
28 December 1940 HMCS Prince David is commissioned as an Armed Merchant Cruiser.
29 December 1837 Canadian ‘volunteers’ under Captain Andrew Drew (ex-RN) cross upper Niagara River, seize supply schooner Caroline, supporting W.L. Mackenzie’s rebellious force on American Navy Island above the Falls. 1 US citizen killed, the ship is cut loose, strands on rocks above the Falls, breaks up and goes over. Canadians row home.
30 December 1902 Born in Kingston Ontario subsequently RAdm (RN) Patrick Willet Brock DSO, MID, and Bronze Star with V device for valour, entered the Royal Naval College of Canada (Eighth Term) in 1917 as a Naval Cadet, RCN at age 14. He transferred to RMC for the Spring 1918 term because of the Halifax explosion and transferred to Esquimalt when the buildings for the new Naval College were ready in Fall 1918. Transferred to Royal Navy in 1921. Promoted Commander 31 December 1938 and on staff of Admiralty. Executive Officer HMS Mauritius in 1942. Commanded HMS Kenya in the Far East in 1949 and during the Korean War. Promoted Commodore RN and made Director of Operations Division in 1951. Promoted to Rear-Admiral 1954 and made Flag Officer Middle East (Ismailia and Cyprus). Retired 1959 and died at Haslemere, Surrey, UK on 10 October 1988.
30 December 1915 Born Winnipeg Manitoba and subsequently LCdr (A) William Haig DSC & Bar, MID three times, was an Acting RAF Pilot Officer in 1936 but transferred to the RN Fleet Air Arm 1 August 1938. He is credit with shooting down four enemy aircraft and eight other “possible”. He flew with No. 888 RN Squadron from HM Ships Formidable, Argus, Indomitable, and Stalker. Survived the war, was demobilized, and died in April 1975.
30 December 1941 HMCS Sackville was commissioned at Saint John Shipbuilding. A Flower Class corvette vessel, HMCS Sackville now serves as Canada’s Naval Memorial and a National Historic Site in Halifax.
30 December 1944 A Wellington from RCAF Squadron 407 sank U-722 in the English Channel. By the end of the war, RCAF planes were credited with sinking 19 German U-boats. Coastal Command, which included many RCAF crews flying British planes, accounted for more than 200 U-boat kills.
31 December 1990 The crew of HMCS Preserver flies to the Persian Gulf to relieve HMCS Protecteur’s crew.
31 December 1992 New Canadian military honours are created: The Victoria Cross, Star of Military Valour, Medal of Military Valour and Mention in Dispatches.
1 January 1923 The National Defence Act, which was passed in June 1922, takes effect, creating the Department of National Defence.
1 January 1907 British Admiralty provisionally hands over the Halifax Dockyard to Canadian authorities.
1 January 1946 The Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve together become the RCN (Reserve). From this date officers of the Regular Force and Reserve wore the same straight sleeve lace.
3 January 1941 Canada and the U.S. acquire air bases at Gander, Newfoundland, and Goose Bay, Labrador, on a 99-year lease.
Significant RCN Dates – If you notice any omissions or errors please inform me. Pointing out any more modern significant dates is encouraged. 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) Last and far from least Gary Weir’s For Prosperity’s Sake RCN historical project site.
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