NAC News – Edition 657 HMCS Unicorn
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of February 20, 2026
Edition 657 HMCS Unicorn Quote: “Russian State Duma Defense Committee Deputy Chairperson Alexei Zhuravlyov, who often acts as a bullhorn for the Kremlin’s true diplomatic and military aims, reiterated on February 14 that Russia “will not be satisfied” with only Ukraine’s surrender of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts, and that Russia must additionally achieve regime change in Kyiv to remove any allegedly “Russophobic” and neo-Nazi government. Senior Kremlin officials have similarly recently claimed that post-war Ukraine must be “friendly” to Russia, implying that Russia will only be satisfied with a Ukraine led by a pro-Russian government that implements pro-Russian policies. Kremlin officials have repeatedly rejected meaningful Western security guarantees for Ukraine and demonstrated their commitment to achieving Russia’s war goals militarily if it cannot do so diplomatically.” ISW Russian offensive campaign assessment, Grace Mappes, Justin Young, Christina Harward, Jessica Sobieski, and George Barros, 14 February 2026.
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
4-5 March 2026 CDAI 2026 Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence, Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel, Ottawa
NEW 23 March 2026 NRAC AGM 7 PM Montreal time, hosted by HMCS Donnacona. The guest speaker is Rear-Admiral Mike Hopper, the chief of Reserves. The Admiral is also on the Canadian Forces Liaison Council.
29-30 April 2026 Naval Association of Canada Defence and Maritime Security Conference themed “Canada in Alliance: Maritime Security in a Changing World” & Battle of the Atlantic (BOA) Gala, the Halifax Hotel, Halifax. The symposium will be co-hosted by NAC and the Canadian Maritime Security Network. The symposium theme “Canada in Alliance & Conflict: The Will of a Nation.” A reception will be held the evening of 29 April ahead of the symposium. The evening of 30 April NS NAC will host the National BOA Gala at the same venue. Details to follow in due course but mark your calendars and hold that date!
13-15 May 2026 NIBC 2026 Conference – Maritime Arctic Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour hotel, Victoria BC. (Editor – NAC-VI helps financially sponsor this event)
15 May 2026 11:00 am at Sackville Landing. 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. For CNMT members you are invited to participate as members of the Re-Commissioning Crew with me J)
25-27 June 2026 RCN Historical Conference – CFB Esquimalt, venue possibly HMCS Venture. Details TBP.
13-16 July 2026, Monday-Tuesday, Maritime & Arctic Security & Safety Conference (MASS) St. John’s Convention Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Register early and receive 20% off conference passes. Offer available until 1 April 2026
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
From umbrella to uncertainty: Europe and Canada’s nuclear deterrence anxiety
Canada bets on ‘Build at Home’ defence strategy to reclaim sovereignty — and revive readiness and Carney unveils defence industry plan aimed at ‘protecting Canada’s sovereignty’ (Editor – 4:38 min CBC video)
CANADA
Minister David McGuinty, Department of National Defence – CDR Radio Episode 55 (Editor – 27:59 min video)
CDAI: Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy: Preliminary Observations from the CDA Institute
Canada has officially joined the EU’s loans-for-weapons program
CAF Compensation Phase Three: Key information for members & Phase 3 de la mise en œuvre du régime de rémunération des FAC : renseignements importants à l’intention des militaires (Editor – affects divers, sea duty, and submarine allowances…and more)
Canada Debuts US-Made MK 54 Torpedo in Live Test
Canada’s River-class destroyer training to start before ships join fleet
Combat Support Ship Asterix Prepares for 2026 Deployment (Editor – 13:00 min video) and CDR Cover Story Asterix
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Re-arming on an ‘Urgent Operational Requirement’ Basis (Editor – Esprit do Corps 6:40 min video)
Irving Shipbuilding awards metals supply contract for Canada’s new River-class destroyers
Head of military’s space division warns Russia is considering putting nuclear weapons in orbit
Canadian Shipyard Turns to AI Robotics to Automate One of Shipbuilding’s Toughest Jobs
CGAI: Caring for Ill and Injured Primary Reservists (Editor – 41:50 min podcast)
One year later, crews continuing to monitor grounded MSC Baltic III
NAC Naval Affairs: Bibliography The Navy Ashore (Editor – NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more. Please share with people you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what your naval affairs programme is all about; enlightening Canadians about maritime affairs and the need for the RCN.
USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Feb. 17, 2026
Trump Unveils White House Maritime Action Plan to Restore U.S. Seapower
‘One Size Fits All’ Won’t Work for the Navy of the Future, Says CNO Caudle
Latest US strike on alleged drug vessel kills 3 ‘narco-terrorists’ and then Eleven killed in multiple strikes on alleged drug boats, US military say
US Coast Guard commissions sixth Arctic District fast response cutter
New Ford-class USS John F. Kennedy CVN 79 Validates Flight Deck with First MH-60S Helicopter Landing
Report: USCG Cutter Blocks Tanker Bound for Cuba with Vital Fuel Supply then Russia’s Lavrov Tells Cuban Minister the US Should Negotiate and Not do a Naval Blockade
Bollinger, Fincantieri Marinette Marine to Build Landing Ship Medium, Navy Says
Lead US Navy Columbia Submarine on Track for 2028 Delivery After Supplier Delay
General Dynamics Lays Keel for US Navy’s 8th John Lewis Tanker Vessel
US Navy accepts delivery of sixth berthing barge
Part Boat, Part Aircraft: US Firm REGENT Launches Hybrid Seaglider
Portugal approves €24 Million sale of four Tejo-class patrol vessels to Dominican Republic
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and adjoining seas:
Return of the rising sun: Japan’s new PM signals rapid rearmament and ‘normalisation’ to counter rise of China (Editor – a Global rearmament race, what could go wrong?!)
Coral to Concrete- China Building New Facilities in the Paracel Islands
French Mission Jeanne D’Arc 2026 Begins Indo-Pacific Deployment
HMAS Toowoomba transits South China Sea
Russian Surface Action Group Underway for Asia-Pacific Deployment
Satellite Images Reveal China’s New Type 095 Nuclear Attack Submarine
N Korea’s claims first N-submarine
Major Upgrade Sees Hypersonic Ship-Killer Missiles Aboard China’s AIP Submarines
U.S. to Transfer Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft, Patrol Vessels to Philippine Coast Guard
Chinese coastguard reveals growing reliance on drones at Scarborough Shoal
Japan Arrest Chinese Fishing Boat Captain
Prime Minister announces $3.9 billion ‘down payment’ towards $30b Adelaide submarine shipyard
Malaysia to Receive Naval Strike Missiles in March as Navy Replaces Exocets
Sea trials begin for new landing vessel prior to hand-over to US military
French Polynesia drug haul hits $2.4 billion in a month as third shipment intercepted
Indonesian Navy Commissions its Largest Survey Vessel
Singapore Sends a Clear Signal as Gas Tanker Captain Jailed Over Fatal Cover-Up
24,000 Containers How China Builds the World’s Biggest Ship (Editor – 2:24 min video)
Indian Ocean and adjoining seas:
Building SSN-AUKUS: Australia’s $30bn Nuclear Submarine Yard at Osborne
President To Review Massive 71-Ship Armada, 50 Aircraft Line-Up in Vizag’s Grand IFR-MILAN Spectacle with India’s Fleet Review Begins, With Iran Present but Not the U.S. Navy
U.S. Boards Shadow Fleet Tanker ‘Veronica III’ in Indian Ocean
Indonesia seeks Italian carrier
India, Japan, Indonesia Conduct Trilateral Naval Exercise in Andaman Sea (Editor – old Sea of Burma)
DAC Greenlights Six Additional P-8I Aircraft for Indian Navy in Major Maritime Boost
Iranian Navy Stages Anti-American Demonstration in the Indian Ocean
Indian Navy launches first cadet training ship
EUROPE
Black and Caspian Seas:
Russian Port Hit By Ukrainian Drones Days Before Geneva Peace Talks
Kyiv Battles to Shelter Ports From Russian Onslaught
Facing a demographic catastrophe, Ukraine is paying for troops to freeze their sperm (Editor – not a maritime article but one of the hidden costs of wars)
Baltic Sea:
Denmark Records 292 Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tankers Passing Through Danish Straits
Iciest Baltic in 15 Years Threatens to Cut Russian Exports with Russia Sends Nuclear Icebreaker From Arctic to Baltic Sea as Severe Ice Chokes Shipping and Mukran LNG Terminal Reopens After Icebreakers Clear Channel in Frozen Baltic
Denmark Detains Shadowy Boxship Linked to Iran Questioning Registration
Mediterranean Sea:
Nothing to report
General:
France strikes to address misinformation weakening Western alliance (Editor – not a maritime article but discussing an issue with significant implications)
Arctic Sentry to enhance NATO’s presence in the Arctic and the High North
UK Carrier Strike Group deployment to high north
Sea fortress doctrine: What if the UK has to defend the North Atlantic alone? (Editor – I’m not sure where this writer thinks the rest of NATO has gone?) more like this How NATO Hunts for Russian Submarines in the Arctic (Editor – 2:35 min video)
UK should have more submarines, MPs told
Type 26: The Massive Warship Deal Between Norway & The UK
Portugal builds Europe’s first dedicated drone carrier, D João II
TKMS is making progress with anti-torpedo torpedoes
The ships that will replace the UK Navy’s River-class Batch 1! AH-120, Batch 3, Venari-85, Spartan (Editor – 8:24 min video)
BAE Systems reports on progress of UK’s Type 26 frigate program
Building the Royal Navy’s general purpose frigates: Type 31 programme update
Defense and Intervention Frigates Boost French and Hellenic Navies (Editor –USNI 3:49 min video)
Russia to Build 10 More Icebreakers and 46 Salvage Vessels to Develop NSR
Hapag-Lloyd’s $4.2 Billion ZIM Acquisition Reshapes Global Container Shipping Map
France Releases Oil Tanker GRINCH After ‘Several Million Euro’ Penalty for Sanctions Evasion
MIDDLE EAST
General:
Step Change in U.S. Reinforcements Headed Towards Iran with Pentagon to Move Carrier to Middle East From Caribbean, Officials Say however Carrier Ford’s Extension to the Middle East Could Break Recent Deployment Records (Editor – useful summary)
US build-up of warships and fighter jets tracked near Iran
Iran’s IRGC Prompts False Alarm in Strait of Hormuz then Iran Says It’s Closing Parts of Hormuz Strait as US Talks Resume with Iran Plans Rocket Launches, Naval Drills with Russia
Iran’s Shahid Soleimani-Class Missile Corvettes Driving a New Naval Strategy in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran Deploys 20+ Ghadir Mini Submarines to Threaten U.S. Carrier Strike Groups in Persian Gulf (Editor – this could get interesting)
Turkish yard floats out new missile boat for Qatari Emiri Navy
Leonardo to provide four C-27J MPAs for Saudi Arabia
Naval Group’s MPLS shoots Thales 68mm guided rocket (Editor – 5:49 min video)
Turkey’s ULAQ Global to Localize Drone Boat Production in Saudi Arabia
TKMS opens new facility for underwater submarine components in Israel
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden:
Warning Shots Off Yemen Underscore Ongoing Gulf of Aden Security Risks
U.S. Navy Operates F-35C Fighter Jets and EA-18G Aircraft from USS Abraham Lincoln in Red Sea
GLOBAL INTERESTS
IMO Ramps Up Campaign to Close Flag State “Enforcement Gap”
More Dark Tankers Arrive at India Scrapyards as Trade Expands
SCUTTLEBUTT
Salvaging Gneisenau: The Scuttled Warship Poland Dragged Back Up (Editor – intriguing 21:46 min video) and a follow on 1945: The Last Remaining Ships of the Kriegsmarine (Editor – 35:31 min video)
The Fightingest Ship: How HMCS Haida Hunted Down U-971 (Editor – 22:39 min video)
Wrecks: HMS Hood (Editor – 15:56 min video. The history of her bell explained at the end is amazing)
Why did Battleships carry torpedoes? (Editor 32:05 min video)
The U-class – The Almost-Hunter-Killers Subs (Editor – 19:42 min video)
Why This American ‘Washing Machine’ Torpedo Sank More Submarines Than Any WW2 Weapon (Editor – 12:18 min video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
21 February 1904 Commander (RCNVR previously RNVR) Sir Charles Frederick Goodeve OBE FRS was born in Neepawa, Manitoba. Cdr Goodeve was a Canadian chemist and pioneer in operations research. In 1942, Goodeve was appointed Assistant Controller Research and Development, with broad oversight of the RN’s research and development efforts. During World War II, he was instrumental in developing the “hedgehog” antisubmarine warfare weapon and by the end of the war the weapon had accounted for some fifty U-boats. For his work in weapon development, Goodeve was awarded a Kt O.B.E. Cdr Goodeve was also instrumental with the degaussing method for protecting ships from naval mines and he coined the term after the gauss unit, used by the Germans during the war. He also developed the related technique of “wiping”. To aid the Dunkirk evacuation, the British “wiped” 400 ships in four days.
21 February 1941 The freighter SS Canadian Cruiser (Built in 1921 by Halifax Shipyards and owned by Canadian Tramp Shipping Co. Ltd.), was sailing unescorted between various Indian Ocean ports. She was intercepted by the German pocket battleship KMS Admiral Sheer and sunk by gunfire about 500 nm east of Zanzibar (now Tanzania). There were no casualties. All 36 crew members were taken prisoner. One man later escaped from a POW camp to Spain.
22 February 1941 The freighter SS A.D. Huff (Atlantic Transportation Company, Montreal) was sailing independently from London to St. John’s. An old 4-inch gun was mounted on the poop deck, with a single DEMS rating to supervise his merchant seamen gunners. Mid-morning on 22 Feb, Huff had about 520 nm remaining in her transit to John’s, when a small biplane appeared overhead. The aircraft signalled for the ship to stop. The Master tried to outrun the threat using his ship’s best speed which was only 8 knots. By midday, the German battle cruiser KMS Gneisenau was on the horizon. Almost at once there was the distant thud of heavy guns and two huge shells splashed in the ship’s wake. The Gneisenau continued periodic shelling of the merchantman with her 11-inch guns. The Master ordered his puny 4-inch gun fired at the oncoming vessel, but the DEMS gunner probably wisely refused. Then hits began to be more direct, with a hit on the large anchor windlass on the forecastle. The Gneisenau started using her secondary 5.9-inch guns. The most damaging being two hits to the engine room. The Master then ordered the crew to abandon ship. The ship’s Radio Officer tried to transmit the raider warning signal R-R-R-R, but Gneisenau’s operators jammed the signal. As the lifeboats cleared away from the ship, Gneisenau approached to within 100 yards and hastened the Huff’s demise with gunfire until she sank. Two engine room personnel were killed and 40 crew members including the DEMS gunner were taken prisoner.
22 February 1943 Operation Torch – RCN Flower Class corvette HMCS Weyburn struck a mine laid by U-118 off the Strait of Gibraltar; the explosion killed one seaman of her crew of 77. Before the ship sank, all but two depth charges were rendered safe by throwing the detonators over the side; British destroyer HMS Wivern started to remove the wounded and survivors when twenty minutes later an after bulkhead gives way and the corvette began to sink. The two depth charges then exploded, killing her CO and 10 others (totalling 12), with many more wounding in the water. Wivern’s engines and boilers were hit, leaving the ship dead in the water; 84 RCN and RN sailors were wounded in total.
22 February 1945 HMCS Trentonian is torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine U1004 near Falmouth England, six of her ship’s company were lost.
23 February 1942 Two Canadian merchant ships steaming without escorts were sunk by U-129 on the very same day. The first ship was sunk at 0120 in the early morning of 23 February and the second was sunk later in the afternoon at 1504. Each ship had been stalked for hours by U-129 before they were each sunk. Both ships were ore carriers with cargoes of high value bauxite, and they were steaming from Paramaribo, Dutch Surinam (todays Guiana) to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Their wartime cargoes of bauxite would be shipped from Trinidad to various North American locations to be used in aluminum production for various weapons systems. The ore carrier SS George L. Torian (Upper Lakes & St Lawrence Transportation Co. Ltd. Toronto) was sunk at 0120 when she was about 120 nm SE from Trinidad. The U-129 fired a torpedo into the ship’s bow and twenty-eight seconds later, she quickly sank. 13 crew members (including the Master) and two passengers were killed. Four crew members were rescued by a US Navy flying boat. The ore carrier SS Lennox (Canada Steamships Lines Ltd, Montreal) was sunk at 15:04 when she was about 160 nm from Trinidad. Two crew members were killed. The Master and 17 crew members were rescued by a merchant ship and landed at Port of Spain.
23 February 1945 The freighter SS Point Pleasant Park (Furness Withy, Canada Ltd, Montreal) was sailing independently from Saint John, New Brunswick, via Trinidad across the South Atlantic to Cape Town. The cargo consisted of commercial trade goods transported between the ports-of-call while on route to Cape Town and back to Saint John. This round trip would be her third such commercial transit between Saint John to Cape Town. At 1400 with Cape Town being 500 nm to the SE, the ship was hit by a torpedo fired by U-510. The torpedo struck the stern and blew off the screw, killed nine men and slowly flooded the engine room. The crew abandoned the ship. U-510 surfaced and fired bursts from the 37 mm AA gun into the waterline to flood the forward holds, and then the area. Eight days later (2 March) the lifeboat with the Master and 19 crew members made landfall at Mercury Island South West Africa (now Namibia). Ten days later (4 March) 29 crew members, in a lifeboat, were rescued by HMSAS Africana.
24 February 1944 HMCS Waskesiu commanded by LCdr James P. Fraser, RCNR sank the German submarine U-257 in the North Atlantic. In concert with Nene, the contact was gained and lost four times. Ordered to give up the chase, Waskesiu was permitted one more attack, an attack which drove the damaged U-boat to the surface. Waskesiu opened fire with its main armament, scoring four hits on the submarine’s conning tower. Eventually the sustained gunfire crippled the vessel, and the crew abandoned the sinking submarine. She was the first Royal Canadian Navy frigate to score a U-boat kill. Supported by Nene, the two ships rescued survivors of U-257.
24 February 1992 On 4 February Ottawa announced that HMCS Restigouche would sail to the Red Sea to become part of the Maritime Interdiction Force named Operation Barrier. With only 19 days’ notice Restigouche, still fitted with the equipment with which she had been fitted for the Gulf War, left Esquimalt on 24 February, and headed east via the Panama and Suez Canals. On 21 April, Restigouche commenced operations in the Red Sea, joining ships from Australia, France, and the United States. A US Coast Guard vessel assisted with the first two inspections, after which Restigouche was on her own. May was a busy month with 57 boardings and only eight days in port – in Jeddah Saudi Arabia and Safaga, Egypt where the Canadian Logistics Detachment provided for her needs. June followed with more boardings, bringing the overall total to 120, after which there was a 10-day visit to Haifa, Israel, for relaxation and maintenance. Canada Day was celebrated in Safaga, with five more boardings completed before Restigouche left the operations area on 4 July. She set sail eastwards, arriving in Esquimalt on 21 August, circumnavigating the globe in the process.
26 February 1949 During a fuelling stop at Manzanillo, Mexico, 90 Leading Seamen and below of the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan—over half the ship’s company—locked themselves in their messdecks, refusing to come out until the captain heard their grievances. Two weeks later, on March 15, eighty-three junior ratings in another destroyer, HMCS Crescent, staged a similar protest while alongside in Nanjing, China. Within days, on March 20, in the carrier HMCS Magnificent, on fleet manoeuvres in the Caribbean, 32 aircraft handlers briefly refused to turn to morning cleaning stations as ordered. Each episode was defused almost immediately, with the respective captains entering the messes for an informal discussion of their sailors’ grievances. Since the men had offered no hint of violence, no one used the charged word ‘mutiny’. Indeed, in Athabaskan, the captain was careful to place his cap over what appeared to be a list of demands, so that no technical state of mutiny could be said to exist. The incidents caused an investigative Commission to be formed that resulted in The Mainguy Report.
27 February 1930 HMCS Thiepval a Battle Class armed trawler was lost after striking an uncharted rock Thiepval Channel, Barkley Sound, BC. There were no casualties. On 8 February 1917 the Canadian government authorized the building of twelve steel-hulled “North Sea trawlers” that would become known as the Battle Class. Four were built by Vickers in Montreal, two subcontracted by Kingston Shipbuilding, and six of a slightly smaller variant by Polson Ironworks of Toronto. These useful Battle Class vessels served on both coasts in many roles.
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. Recently “Guardians of the North” written by NAC members Rich Gimblett & Karl Gagnon. 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.
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE NAC
If you are receiving NAC News, consider friends joining NAC – Membership and Renewal plus NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more.
Link to Starshell Magazine Other Interesting Web Sites Archived weekly NAC News
Social Media: Facebook X Linkedin
Should you wish to donate or leave a memorial, consider donating to the NAC, its Branches (NAC member Login required) or the NAC Endowment Fund. Donations to the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Education Foundation should be made through its website.
NAC reference to assist veterans and/or seniors is located at Veteran’s Corner
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE RCN
Facebook – RoyalCanadianNavy | MarineRoyaleCanadienne;
Twitter – @RoyalCanNavy | @MarineRoyaleCan;
LinkedIn – RoyalCanadianNavy-MarineRoyaleCanadienne
Instagram – RoyalCanNavy | MarineRoyaleCan;
Flickr – RoyalCanadianNavy-MarineRoyaleCanadienne
YouTube – RoyalCanadianNavy | MarineRoyaleCanadienne
Vimeo – RoyalCanadianNavy-MarineRoyaleCanadienne
|
You are receiving this email because you are associated with NAC and have been receiving NAC News. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe by emailing the publisher: naccoordinator@navalassoc.ca
Copyright © 2026 Naval Association of Canada, all rights reserved.