NAC News – Edition K669/321 HMCS Lanark
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of May 22, 2026
Edition K669/321 HMCS Lanark (River/Prestonian Class Frigate) Quote: “Iranian officials continue to frame control over the Strait of Hormuz as a key strategic interest and a critical component of long-term Iranian deterrence. Iran likely views control over the strait as essential to restoring deterrence against the United States and Israel following the degradation of its other forms of deterrence. Supreme Leader adviser Mohammad Mokhber stated in an interview with Iranian media that Iran’s position in the strait is similar to the strategic value of a nuclear weapon. Mokhber’s role as an adviser to the supreme leader suggests that his statements, at least in part, reflect the regime’s thinking at the highest levels. Mokhber argued that control over a major economic chokepoint gives Iran the ability to affect the global economy “with one decision.” He added that Iran “will not lose the strait under any circumstances.” ISW, Iran Update Special Report, May 8, 2026
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NOTICES
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.
NEW 19 October 2026 ABCDMI Seaspan Industry Engagement Day Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
NEW 20 – 21 October 2026 ABCDMI Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
Pentagon walks away from Canada-U.S. defence board (Editor – PJBD summary) with Carney downplays Washington’s decision to pause bilateral defence board and implications Dr. Strangelove diplomacy: How the Pentagon’s symbolic defence board freeze with Canada could backfire then Pentagon doubles down on Canada rebuke with demand for NATO spending road map, F-35 decision
NATO Weighing Hormuz Mission If Strait Crisis Drags Into Summer
CANADA
Korea’s Navy Chief Visits Canada to Back $60 Billion Submarine Bid (Editor – the boat herself arrives in Esquimalt 23 May. S. Korea launches its largest indigenous diesel-electric submarine, eyes Canadian order and an old but useful 3:24 min news video)
Historic HMCS Sackville returns to Nova Scotia (Editor – 1:56 min Global News video) and a 0:54 sec CTV News Video HMCS Sackville returns to Halifax waterfront with special designation
Anand says joining SAFE defence borrowing pact will help Canadian firms compete while Canadians want defence dollars spent on Canadian-owned firms, not U.S. companies or their subsidiaries
“Canadian Armed Forces Transformation: Rebuild, Rearm, Reinvest” (Editor – Presentation by Rear-Admiral Michael Hopper Chief of Reserves, NRAC Annual General Meeting, 23 March 2026 at HMCS Donnacona)
Top military commander Gen. Carignan nominated for senior advisory role in NATO with Le ministre McGuinty annonce une candidate canadienne pour la présidence du Comité militaire de l’OTAN & Minister McGuinty announces Canadian candidate for Chair of the NATO Military Committee
Ottawa to expand defence buying powers when national, economic security at stake
CDAI: Will Expanded Defence Investment Agency Powers Streamline Procurement? (Editor – first-rate 57:28 min podcast)
CDAI: National Marine Workforce Development Strategy
Why Canada is seeing its biggest military recruitment surge in 30 years
Le ministère de la Défense nationale met fin à l’utilisation opérationnelle de l’installation navale de Nanisivik & Department of National Defence to transition Nanisivik Naval Facility out of operational use news article Ottawa reveals plans to shut down and offload Nanisivik naval port on Baffin Island
60 Seconds With MS Fanny Fontaine – NAVRES Formation Sailor (Editor – 1:19 min video) & Soixante secondes avec la Matc Fanny Fontaine, matelot-chef de la formation de la RESNAV (Éditeur – vidéo 1 min 19 s)
Leadership, dedication, and perseverance (Editor – RCN :31 min video) & Leadership, dévouement et persévérance
Canada, Finland and US push forward on next-gen icebreaker program with Contractor awarded $3.5 billion to build out US Coast Guard’s Arctic Security Cutters fleet
Same, But Different: How Type 26 Vessels Compare (Editor – 17:26 min video)
This German Stealth Submarine Just Made Every Other Sub Obsolete (Editor – useful 33:03 min video)
Hanwha Ocean and Thordon Bearings link up on Canadian patrol submarine project
Canada’s new $5 Billion Super Corvette is Taking Shape! It’ll replace the Kingston-class warship (Editor – 8:02 min video)
CDAI: Canada’s Choice Between American and Swedish Early Warning Aircraft | The Security Brief (Editor – not maritime specific but a interesting 5:59 min video)
Federal government to shut down Arctic naval refuelling base
La Garde côtière canadienne met le NGCC Naalak Nappaaluk en service & The CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk officially joins the Canadian Coast Guard fleet and CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk: Largest dedicated science vessel ever built for Canada! (Editor – 7:25 min video)
Funeral Mass for Vice Admiral (Ret’d) Nigel D. Brodeur (Tuesday, 12 May 2026, 11 a.m.) (Editor – 58:20 min video)
The Memory Project (Editor – please share as you deem appropriate)
Hecate Strait oil tanker debate reignites amid pipeline push
‘Highway on the Sea’: How decisions made about B.C. Ferries decades ago led to problems today
Actualité de Notre Marine Volume 9 Numero 4 & Our Navy Today Volume 9 Issue 4
Lookout: 19 May 2026, Volume 71, Issue 10 & Volume 71, numéro 10, 19 mai 2026
Trident: Monday 18 May 2026 Volume 60, Issue 10 (Éditeur – Version française indisponible)
NAC Naval Affairs: Bibliography Submarines in Canadian Service (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: May 11, 2026
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: May 18, 2026
US Navy could run out of money by July, top officer warns
Is the U.S. military running out of weapons?
USS Nimitz enters Caribbean as US indicts Cuban leader Raul Castro over 1996 plane shootdown
USNI: America’s Navy in a New Strategic Era – Featured at the U.S. Naval Institute Annual Meeting (Editor – 2:05:14 min video)
US in closely guarded talks to open new bases in Greenland
How John Lewis-Class Fleet Replenishment Oilers Transform US At-Sea Resupply
Navy’s Unmanned Tanker Jet Has Been Approved for Production
Bath Iron Works nets deal to build another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer for US Navy
Northrop Grumman delivers 70th E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to US Navy
US Navy awards Raytheon contract to develop next-gen naval radar software
World’s largest warship heads home after longest deployment in ‘modern history’
US destroyers are ‘quietly’ becoming laser-armed warships
The US Next Giant Super Aircraft Carrier – USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) (Editor – 8:02 min video)
Future Aircraft Carrier Doris Miller Delayed by 2 Years with USN’s Third and Fourth Ford Supercarriers Face Further Construction Delays
Epic Fury has Navy rethinking carrier deployment tempo with Long Deployments May Be The Norm For The U.S. Navy’s Aircraft Carriers
First Columbia-Class Nuclear Submarine Is Scheduled for Delivery in 2028, General Dynamics Says with Atlas – _Dry dock to support construction of US Navy’s future ballistic missile submarines
Virginia Subs Will Hit 2-A-Year Build Rate in 2030s, CNO Caudle Says
Why the US Navy Just Armed Its “Failed” Destroyer With Hypersonics (Editor – intriguing 18:15 min video)
The US Navy is full speed ahead on building a laser fleet in the interim These American Destroyers Are Equipped With Laser Weapons
US Navy to Induct Last Freedom Warship in Historic Ohio Event despite US Navy commissions final littoral combat ship after years of issuesLife Inside a Gigantic US Destroyer Patrolling the Seas at High Speed (Editor – 15:07 min video)
U.S. Coast Guard’s Newest Icebreaker Returns From Arctic Patrol as U.S. Expands Polar Fleet
America’s Nuclear Shipping Revival Is About More Than Reactors
Hundreds of Chinese fishing boats assemble every year off Argentina’s coast to catch squid.
Dali ship operator charged over deadly Baltimore bridge collapse
Historic Cold Pushed U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaking Fleet to the Limit in 2026
Alaska Mega-Tsunami Raises Alarm for Cruise Ships in Glacier Fjords
Panama Canal Near Capacity as Hormuz Crisis Drives Surge in U.S. Energy Exports with Panama Canal Aims to Avoid Repeat of 2023 Drought Crisis as El Niño Looms and First Woman to Lead Panama Canal Named as Waterway Faces Rising Global Pressure
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and 22+ marginal seas:
Australia Kicks Off $7.8B Life Extension Program for Collins Submarines
USNI: Intel Update on the PLA Navy (Editor – detailed and worthwhile in a 45:14 min video)
Is China’s Type 055 Actually the Most Powerful Destroyer? (Editor – 36:26 min video)
China’s grey-zone fleet is eroding Taiwan’s control at sea
35 Chinese ships operating in Philippines EEZ
Liaoning carrier group’s live-fire training in Western Pacific serves as a strong deterrent
Something else for Australia to consider: Russian nuclear subs in the Pacific
Keeping score: Vietnam’s Spratly island overhaul continues
CSBC chair says Taiwan needs more than 10 submarines for defense
Japan’s Largest Warship Preparing for F-35B Training with U.S. Marines
Hedging our bets: a Japanese option for managing risk in the AUKUS optimal pathway
Australia’s naval defence without AUKUS pillar oneChina has decisively won the shipping war (Editor – ground truth in a 9:51 min video)
China Just Built The World’s Largest Oil Tankers — The US Is Stunned (Editor – 27:03 min video)
Indian Ocean and 4 major marginal seas:
Indian Navy Deploys First Indigenous Maritime Spotter Drone from INS Vikrant
Indian Navy to Field DURGA-2 100KW Laser Weapon on Stealth Warships
Norway halts NSM missile exports to Malaysia, triggering diplomatic backlash
India And Germany Conclude Negotiations For ₹99,000 Crore Project 75(I) Submarine Deal
Pakistan Commissions First Hangor-Class Submarine in China, Deepening Naval Axis with Beijing
Chinese Vessel Da Yang Hao Loiters Near Indian Missile Test Zone, Raising Strategic Concerns
EUROPE
Black and Caspian Seas:
Ukraine Strikes Russian Corvette in the Caspian Sea and another Ukrainian Strike Drone Punches Through Russian Warship in Caspian Sea
Baltic Sea:
New stealth corvette enters service with Russian Navy
Salvors target recovery of sunken Russian Navy tug by late May
Mediterranean Sea and its 15 marginal seas:
Russia quietly restores strategic naval base in Syria
Discovery of Ukrainian-made USV in Greek cave prompts investigation
Turkish-built midget submarine hits the water
Canadians among activists detained on Gaza flotilla after Israeli interception
General:
Exercise Dynamic Mongoose: Nato’s submarine hunting skills put to the test while Russian Surveillance Ship Spotted Near NATO Sub Drills
Russia’s shadow fleet ships defying PM’s threat and entering UK waters
Defence minister wants 1,000-ship Royal Navy, built primarily on uncrewed platforms
Rare access inside French Navy nuclear attack submarine ‘Suffren’ (Editor – 31:05 min video)
Italian Navy in the Pacific with MPCS Bande Nere to test ballistic missile defence
Europe Swaps Russian Gas Dependence for U.S. LNG Reliance as Middle East Turmoil Tightens Squeeze however EU Russian Arctic LNG Imports Hit $4.4bn Record Despite Sanctions Measures with Russia-linked LNG Carrier ‘Merkuriy’ Loads at Arctic Hub, Expanding Shadow Fleet Capacity
French Navy welcomes first of three PC-24 aircraft
Turkey to buy 100 one-way explosive naval drones for swarm attacks
Babcock to build US submarine parts at Rosyth
Koln & Lubeck – German Navy corvettes for coastal anti-air and anti-surface missions
It remains unclear whether reactors will be fuelled before being towed around Scandinavia
UK Opens Door to Diesel and Jet Fuel Made From Russian Crude
MIDDLE EAST
U.S. Admiral Says Operation EPIC FURY Rolled Back ‘40 Years’ of Iranian Military Investment with US Admiral says Iranian Navy and its stocks of sea mines have been substantially eliminated
These Five Countries Are About To Run Out Of Fuel (Editor – inadvertent consequences explained in a 13:42 min video) and Africa’s Farmers Brace for Food Crisis as Hormuz Fertilizer Flows Collapse sadly ADNOC CEO Says Hormuz Oil Flows May Not Fully Recover Before 2027
U.S. Targets 19 Tankers, Shadow Banks in Major New Iran Sanctions Crackdown
Trump’s Iran Strategy Collides with Hormuz Reality and U.S. Navy Faces Rising Costs for Hormuz Missions With Strait Still Blocked
Iran Formalises Hormuz Toll Regime as PGSA Tightens Control Over Global Oil Lifeline (Editor – precarious and slippery slope if allowed) with Iran Draws New Maritime ‘Oversight Zone’ Across Strait of Hormuz while Iraq and Pakistan Strike Iran Transit Deals to Move Oil and LNG Through Hormuz
Unlikely allies US and China agree on Strait of Hormuz free passage
Have sea mines been laid in the Strait of Hormuz?
Report to Congress on U.S. Aircraft Combat Losses in Operation Epic Fury (Editor – surprised at the details for an ongoing operation)
U.S. Marines Board Iranian Tanker in Gulf of Oman
Iran Seizes Chinese-Owned ‘Floating Armory’ Ship Near Hormuz while Iran Seizes Chinese Vessel and Indian Ship Sinks as BRICS Divisions Deepen
Hormuz Traffic Increases as Iran Metes Out Passage for Political Gain
UK Leads 40-Nation Defensive Mission to Secure Strait of Hormuz
Iranian missiles, drones target US destroyer trio in Strait of Hormuz
Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon to be pre-positioned for operations in the Strait of Hormuz then HMS Dragon Transits Suez Canal Ahead of Potential Hormuz Security Mission while Iran issues threat to British warship and U.K. Pledges Destroyer, Drone-hunting Systems to Strait of Hormuz Mission
Royal Navy USVs to be deployed for potential operational debut in Strait of Hormuz
Italy is forward-deploying mine countermeasures assets in the Middle East
HMS Stirling Castle arrives in Gibraltar to deliver mine warfare kit for Middle East deployment
French Carrier Charles De Gaulle Safely Transits Strait of Bab el Mandeb
Iran confirms deployment of Ghadir-class midget submarines in Strait of Hormuz to counter US Navy
U.S. Navy Fighter Jet Disables Two More Iranian Tankers
GLOBAL INTERESTS
U.S. Alleges Chinese Shipping Container Giants Rigged Global Supply During COVID Crisis
Massive Atlantic ‘Cocaine Highway’ Busted in European Maritime Drug Operation
Antarctica’s Cruise Boom Sparks Alarm After Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
Every UK Overseas Military Base, Mapped (Editor – 14:39 min video)
SCUTTLEBUTT
Canada Built the World’s Fastest Warship. Then Destroyed It. (Editor – 14:13 min video)
Why it took 1000 men to run a Warship (Editor – HMS Belfast in a 15:28 min video)
Inside Cammell Laird: The Disastrous Contract That Destroyed Britain’s Shipyard (Editor – nostalgic look in a 52:14 min video)
Loading An Ore Ship -The Massive Mesabi Miner- (Editor – 4:46 min video)
Why 75% of these Destroyers were Sunk (Editor – 2:12 min video)
How Giant Ship Propellers Are Made — Inside Massive Marine Engineering Factory (Editor – impressive 16:11 min video)
The “Type” System (Explained) (Editor – RN explanation in a 7:14 min video)
They Called It a ‘Mine’ to Hide Its Secret — It Sank 37 U Boats Without Missing (Editor – 39:14 min FIDO video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
24 May 1941 HMS Hood is sunk by the Bismarck in the Denmark Straits: three Canadian Midshipmen Christopher Norman (Victoria BC), Francis Jones (Revelstoke BC), Thomas Beard (Victoria BC), serving in the battle cruiser were killed. All three midshipman were sons of RCN or Canadian Army officers.
24 May 1963 41 Sea King helicopters designated the CH-124 entered service with the RCN. By the time it was retired from service 55 years later, in 2018, it had undergone a variety of modifications and role-changes. Throughout, it maintained its well-earned reputation as the workhorse of the fleet. While most other navies only operated such large helicopters from aircraft carriers, the RCN embarked the Sea Kings on their helicopter-carrying destroyers (DDH). To do so, Canada developed the “beartrap” hauldown system, which allowed the helicopter to land safely and quickly, even on a rolling deck. Sea King helicopters were a critical element in nearly every naval operation at home and abroad for fifty-five years between 1963 and 2018.
23 May 1941 The first seven corvettes for the Newfoundland Escort Force arrive in St. John’s. They secured to a rotting wooden wharf at the southern end of the harbour. Apart from fuel, shelter, food, water and encouragement, St. John’s offered little in 1941.
25 May 1945 HMCS Ontario was completed and commissioned at Belfast. She was a Minotaur-class light cruiser built for the RN as HMS Minotaur but transferred to the RCN. HMS Minotaur was laid down on 20 November 1941 by Harland & Wolff of Belfast and launched on 29 July 1943. She Her first Commanding Officer was the RCN Captain (later VAdm) Harold Taylor Grant.
28 May 1945 Signal sent from Admiralty, discontinuing all convoys on the north and south Atlantic, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and St. Lawrence. One by one, merchant ships began turning on navigation lights and then sailing in full illumination, causing the final convoys to shine like bright cities on the water.
28 May 2000 Dedication of Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
29 May 1980 The first RCAF Aurora CP-140 maritime patrol aircraft was delivered. Eventually fourteen planes would fly out of Greenwood, NS, and four from Comox, BC. The CP-140 was an amalgam of a USN P-3C airframe with S-3A Viking avionics.
29 May 1982 The National War Memorial in Ottawa is rededicated to include dates of the Second World War and Korean War.
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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