NAC News – Edition K665 HMCS Eastview
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of April 17, 2026
Edition K665 HMCS Eastview (River Class Frigate with the distinction of being the last RCN frigate to enter wartime service) Quote: “Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak instructed the Ministry of Energy during a March 27 meeting to prepare a draft resolution banning all gasoline exports from April 1 to July 31, 2026, in order to stabilize gasoline prices and prioritize supplies to the domestic market. Russian authorities previously suspended gasoline exports in September 2025 but lifted the ban for large exporters at the end of January 2026. Gasoline prices in Russia have risen sharply since Fall 2025 following the intensification of Ukraine’s strike campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, placing increasing burdens of the war on the Russian populace as inflation continues to rise, real income continues to fall, and the price of household goods remains high.” ISW: Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 28 March 2026
Editor NAC News: Rod Hughes (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
28 April 2026 Vanguard Simulation & Training Forum, National Arts Centre 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa. Not able to attend in person – all speaker sessions will be live streamed to facilitate virtual participation. Super Early Bird open now.
29 – 30 April 2026 Naval Association of Canada Defence and Maritime Security Conference themed “Canada in Alliance: Maritime Security in a Changing World” (Editor – includes registration) & Battle of the Atlantic (BOA) Gala, the Halifax Hotel, Halifax. The symposium will be co-hosted by NAC and the Canadian Maritime Security Network. 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 and the details are now at the link.
CDAI: Graduate Student Conference 2026 – The Road to 5%: Next Generation Key Dates: April 8, 2026: Biography & 200 word statement of interest submission deadline. Successful applicants will be notified the following week. Key dates – 1 May 2026: Paper deadline, full paper submission, 3,000 words. 6 May 2026: Networking Reception 7 May 2026: Graduate Student Conference. The following awards: First place – $3,000, Second Place – $2,000, Third Place – $1,000, & Honourable Mentions (4) – $750 each. The highest-ranked papers will be considered for CDAI publication.
12 -14 May 2026 Mari-Tech 2026 ABCMI Co-hosting with CIMaRE & SNAME Venue: Victoria Conference Centre, 720 Douglas Street’ Victoria, BC
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 into the RCN)
27 – 28 May 2026 CANSEC – Canada’s leading defence, security & emerging technology event. EY Centre, Ottawa, ON
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 April 1, 2026
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
“Free Seas” Are Not Unraveling — But the System Is Changing Under Pressure
MLI: Canada’s moment to lead the Free North: Kaush Arha, Christopher Coates, and Peter Harrell (Editor – interesting bit about the “Free North naval strategy)
CANADA
Editor – CBC reporter Joan Webber is looking to interview anyone who has knowledge of HMCS Athabaskan’s assistance to the mine damaged USS Princeton during the first Gulf War in February 1991. If there is interest please contact NAC Member Dave Harper in Ottawa with your name, role in the crew, and contact info.
2 Royal Canadian Navy sailors charged in fatal Halifax harbour capsizing officially Déclaration du commandant et du premier maître du commandement de la Marine royale canadienne & Statement from the Commander and Command Chief of the Royal Canadian Navy
Shipbuilding majors discuss expanded naval collaboration in Canada
Canadian Coast Guard tests Arctic surveillance drone as air force delivery stalls
CANADIAN PATROL SUBMARINE: Diving into a Secure Future for Canada (Editor – Esprit de Corps [non-sarcastic!] 3:40 min video)
CSS Asterix: A Proven Force Multiplier for Canada’s Navy and Our NATO Allies
Canada designing 300,000-strong strategic reserve as world prepares for war, says armed forces chief (Editor – 29:20 min video) and Answering the call: Has the time come for mandatory national service?
MLI: Supplying energy to our allies would make Canada relevant again: Alan Kessel in the National Post (Editor – why maritime security matters and isn’t hypothetical)
Vancouver Shipyards’ Land-Based Test Site team celebrate successes on the Polar Icebreaker program
AtkinsRéalis signs memorandum of understanding with Hanwha Ocean
Vets, MPs call on feds to launch honour review board to award Canadian Victoria Cross
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Army’s New Assault Rifles (Editor – Esprit de Corps 5:29 min video)
Canadian soldier sues Ottawa and U.S. gun maker over accidental shooting
Why the World’s Most Advanced Jet is a Nightmare (Editor – for info 2:46 min video)
Découvrez où la musique peut vous MENER ! (Editor – MRC/RCN Vidéo de 1 min 36 s) Discover where music can take YOU!
First cruise ship of the year kicks off what’s set to be a record season
NAC Naval Affairs: Bibliography RCN Naval Procurement (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: April 13, 2026
Strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5, leave 1 survivor in eastern Pacific, U.S. military says and then U.S. Military Kills 2 in 50th Strike on Suspected Narco Boat and another U.S. Military Strikes 4th Suspected Drug Boat in Eastern Pacific in 5 Days
USNI: Dollars, Defense, and Reform: A Conversation with Senator Tim Sheehy (Editor – former SEAL in a first-rate 48:54 min podcast)
USS Gerald R. Ford Breaks Post-Cold War Deployment Record
Another US aircraft carrier struck by onboard fire
Navy Commissions USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. into the Fleet
U.S. Navy Set To Commission Final Freedom-Class Littoral Combat Ship USS Cleveland
USN Gives Up on Long-Delayed Overhaul of Sub USS Boise
Fincantieri Wins First U.S. Navy LSM Contract, Advances 35-Ship Program
A High-Risk Part of USV Ops Just Went Autonomous With Vestdavit’s ‘AutoHook’
INSIDE the Hidden Places of Aircraft Carriers – What’s Down There Will SHOCK You! (Editor – 19:01 min video) and How the US Navy Repairs Aircraft Carriers While They’re Still at Sea (Editor – 16:40 min video)
South Korean warship donated to Ecuador on its way to new home
CIMSEC: Ditch the Cup: End the Navy’s Random Urinalysis Program
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and adjoining seas:
North Korea Tests Cruise and Anti-Ship Missiles from Destroyer
New Zealand Is Preparing for War With China (Editor – 1:08 min video)
Australia rolls out decade-long $425B defense investment plan
ANI welcomes top defence appointments
China Moves to Block Entrance to Disputed South China Sea Shoal, Images Show
China’s new undersea cable cutter
Japan not abiding by post-WWII restrictions — Patrushev
Rolls-Royce outlines progress on AUKUS delivery push
Torpedo-shaped drone linked to China recovered from Indonesian waters
Royal Navy makes Pitcairn Island safe during explosive visit
UKEF secures £128 million submarine rescue deals with Indonesia, boosting British industry
How The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Finally Being Conquered (Editor – not sure why this success story isn’t more widely celebrated – 15:34 min video)
Indian Ocean and adjoining seas:
India’s $3.5 billion push: expanding P-8I fleet amid rising costs and strategic deals
Sri Lanka repatriates 238 Iranian sailors stranded after US torpedo attack
Pakistan Navy Demonstrates Precision Strike Capabilities with SMASH ASBM Test
UK shelves Chagos deal after Trump opposition with Chagos Climb-Down Calls for a New Plan
INS Vishal: India’s conventional supercarrier ambition in the 2030s
At least 250 people missing after boat sinks in Indian Ocean
EUROPE
Black and Caspian Seas:
Russian Drones hit Ukrainian Port, Damage Panama-Flagged Vessel, Officials Say
Former CIA chief David Petraeus, other NATO big guns to advise Ukrainian military
Baltic Sea:
Estonia Says Detaining Russia’s Tankers in Baltic Sea is Too Risky
Sweden reactivates intelligence ship HSwMS Orion for seabed surveillance and drone testing
Mediterranean Sea and its 15 marginal seas:
Nothing of interest this week
General:
U.K. Forces Counter Covert Russian Submarine Activities, Officials Say and details Russian SUBMARINE Tries Something NASTY in NATO Waters… Then UK HITS Back (Editor – 17:01 min video)
What Happened to the Royal Navy? From 1,400 Ships to 62 (Editor – 14:40 min video)
Sacking of former Royal Navy chief demonstrates challenge facing the Armed Forces, says 1SL
Royal Navy takes command of NATO maritime task group
The evolution of UK nuclear submarine reactors and Rolls-Royce’s central role
VESSEL REVIEW | Atalante – Italian Navy welcomes multi-role replenishment oiler into service
Why Germany is Building the World’s Largest New Super Frigate? (Editor – 8:02 min video)
Germany’s Final Type 424 SIGINT Ship Enters Production
Freire Shipyard Launches Spanish Navy’s New Diving Support Vessel
Royal Navy evaluates rotary wing UAS for anti-submarine warfare role
Fincantieri delivers multi-purpose support vessel to Italian Navy
Germany Starts Early Production of 3rd Class 424 Intelligence Ship to Boost Naval Surveillance
MIDDLE EAST
General:
U.S. Navy Redeploys for Next Phase of Gulf Operations with U.S. Turns Back Ten Ships as Iran Port Blockade Holds, Tankers Test Limits but Two US-sanctioned VLCCs defy naval blockade to enter Persian Gulf
Why Network Engineers Are Worried About the Strait of Hormuz Crisis (Editor – a new strategic wrinkle)
How Iran and the U.S. Justify Differing Views on Freedom of Navigation
U.S. Navy Intercepts Iranian Cargo Ship Near Hormuz as Maritime Blockade Enters Enforcement Phase
Maximum Pressure Returns: U.S. Targets Shadow Fleet Tankers as Iran Oil Waiver Expires
Iran can’t find its own mines, stalls Hormuz reopening amid U.S. pressure
while UK steps up minehunting readiness for Strait of Hormuz unfortunately The Ships Built for This Exact Moment Were Already Being Cut Apart (Editor – laughable if it wasn’t so serious – 17:39 min video) then US Sets Out to Clear Mines from Strait of Hormuz
Here’s A List Of Gulf Energy Infrastructure Damaged In Iran War (Editor – no wonder the global petroleum market is staggering) not maritime stories but impactful
Chinese jet fuel and the myth of energy independence (Editor – 5:15 min video)
NATO’s Rutte tells allies Trump wants Hormuz pledges within days, diplomats say with
Germany’s Merz seeks to prevent NATO split over Iran conflict
CENTCOM: More than 10K troops, 12 warships shut down access to Iranian ports
US Navy reveals it lost a $240 million spy drone during the Iran war
What is a naval blockade and how would it work in Strait of Hormuz? and threatening U.S. says Strait of Hormuz blockade will start Monday after Iran peace talks stumble and U.S. Blockade Draws New Red Lines in Strait of Hormuz Crisis however NATO Allies Refuse to Join U.S. Hormuz Blockade, Deepening Rift With Trump
Why Michael Clarke thinks Donald Trump has been ‘militarily flawless’ but ‘politically clueless (Editor – could resist including this astute 2:04 min video)
US Central Command Outlines Iranian Blockade Plan however US blockade of Iran will be major military endeavor, experts say
CENTCOM: US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers transit Strait of Hormuz to clear mine threat more details US Destroyers Enter Persian Gulf – Strait Still Open? | Plus, Empty Supertankers Heading to the US (Editor – useful explanation of US minesweeping “beginning” in a 13:09 min video)
Russian-Flagged Tanker Transits Hormuz Into Gulf in Rare Passage
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden:
Saudi Arabia Maintains Oil Exports From Key Red Sea Port for Now with Saudi Arabia Says East-West Pipeline Restored To Full Capacity
GLOBAL INTERESTS
Global Submarine Power Ranking 2026: US, China and Russia Lead Nuclear Stealth and Strike Capability
Global ship order book hits 17-year high
Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Operating off Southern Africa as Iranian Blockade Begins
French Navy Jeanne d’Arc task group drops anchor in Table Bay
Why do 27 Spanish soldiers guard this worthless rock 24/7? (Editor – 6:21 min video)
SCUTTLEBUTT
What Exactly Is A Corvette — And Why Did Britain Build 300 Of Them? (Editor – timely with HMCS Sackville’s recommissioning 15 May – a 14:42 min video)
Why This ‘Invisible’ British Device Made Every U-Boat Radio A Death Sentence
The GENIUS Officer Who Strapped a Searchlight to a Bomber — And Turned It Into a U-Boat Killer ! (Editor –22:11 min video)
HMS Argus – Guide 318 (Editor – 6:12 min video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
20 April 1942 The SS Vineland was pressed into wartime service to transport bauxite from St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to Portland, Maine. (Bauxite would then be transported by rail to aluminum smelters, including to the Alcan smelter in Arvida, Quebec.) On 20 April, at about 2 pm local time, while steaming at 11 knots on a southeasterly course towards St Thomas, the unescorted Vineland was hit aft by a G7e torpedo from U-154. Another torpedo then slammed into the engine room causing the stern section to break off. The forward section remained afloat and sank after being hit by a few rounds from the deck gun. The location of the sinking 77 nautical miles north of the Turks and Caicos Islands and 515 nautical miles northwest of St. Thomas. The master and 33 survivors abandoned ship in two lifeboats. The lone casualty was 19 year-old engine room Oiler James Lawrence Hanson who had joined the Merchant Marine (and the SS Vineland) just 12 days earlier.
21 April 1943 The 133-foot auxiliary powered Nova Scotia fishing schooner, SV Flora Alberta (built 1941) departed Lunenburg and was bound for the Grand Banks. The schooner had been traveling through the dense fog at about nine knots and blowing her fog whistle at regular intervals. On a converging course a convoy of 8 ships in 3 columns was also steaming through the same dense fog to join a larger convoy (HX-235, from New York City, with one RN and five RCN escorts). At about 05:22, the Flora Alberta was sliced in two by the SS Fanad Head which was the lead ship in the port column. The fore and aft sections quickly sank with most of the crew, of which many had been asleep in their bunks. Of the crew of 28, only Captain Guy Tanner and six crew members were successfully rescued.
22 April 1943 – The cargo liner MV Amerika (eastbound convoy HX-234) was sunk at 01:54 on 22 April 1943 by U-306, about 145 nautical miles south of Greenland. Fifty-three RCAF personnel were the only passengers embarked during this eastbound crossing of the North Atlantic. Thirty-seven of the RCAF passengers were killed. Forty-two crew members and seven DEMS gunners were also lost. The master, twenty-nine crew members, eight gunners and the 16 RCAF survivors were rescued by HMS Asphodel and landed at Greenock, Scotland.
22 April 1944 HMCS Swansea commanded by A/Cdr Clarence A. King, D.S.O., D.S.C. & Bar, M.I.D., RCNR with HMCS Matane commanded by A/Cdr A. Frank C. Layard, DSO, RN using depth charges sink U-311 south of Iceland. Cdr King’s third submarine in 7 weeks.
23 April 1947 HMCS Malahat re-commissioned as Victoria’s Naval Reserve Division; originally commissioned as naval recruiting centre January 15, 1944. They grew from the No.1 Half Company of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR) that was established 18 May 1914. HMCS Scotian was also commissioned as Halifax’s Naval Reserve Division. The first reserve unit was the Halifax Half-Company, which operated from 1925 to 1935. From 1935 to 1939, the unit’s name was changed to Halifax Division. The two were the 14th and 15th of the 24 divisions commissioned. The remainder of the 24 Naval Reserve Divisions would be subsequently commissioned, with the last being HMCS Queen Charlotte (Charlottetown) in 1994.
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.
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