NAC News – Edition K677 HMCS Royalmount
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of July 24, 2026
Edition K677 HMCS Royalmount (Editor – River Class) Quote: “Europe today is a powder keg and the leaders are like men smoking in an arsenal…A single spark will set off an explosion that will consume us all. I cannot tell you when that explosion will occur, but I can tell you where. Some damned foolish thing in the Balkans will set it off.” Attributed to Otto Von Bismarck at the Congress in Berlin, 1878.
Editor NAC News: Rod Hughes (Comments welcome to help improve this service.)
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NOTICES
19 October 2026 ABCDMI Seaspan Industry Engagement Day Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
20 – 21 October 2026 ABCDMI Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
NEW 27 October 2026 07:30-18:00 (Ottawa time) at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa. Vanguard’s Deep Blue 2026: Registration is open. With the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project advancing, attention is turning to procurement, sustainment, infrastructure, training and Canadian industrial participation.
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
Canada’s next defence fight won’t be over spending. It’ll be over trust
Le Canada va diversifier le commerce et doubler ses exportations grâce à la Stratégie sur la porte d’entrée du port de Vancouver & Canada to diversify trade and double exports through the Port of Vancouver Gateway Strategy
CANADA
Le NCSM Ville de Québec déployé pour l’Opération REASSURANCE & HMCS Ville de Québec deploys for Operation REASSURANCE with NATO ships strengthen transatlantic partnership during Halifax port visit
TKMS Type 212CD: Technical Specifications & Program Background (Editor – 12:48 min video)
Canada extends Babcock contract as it awaits new German submarines
Canada’s quiet and non-magnetic submarines
The Arctic Stealth Race: Why Canada Bought German Submarines (And Rejected VLS) (Editor – summary in a 12:40 min video)
ADM(Mat) Provides New Update on the CU179 Peregrine
Les Forces armées canadiennes rééquilibrent les opérations en vue de renforcer leur empreinte mondiale & Canadian Armed Forces rebalances operations to strengthen global footprint
L’ASFC saisit 300 kg de méthamphétamine dans un conteneur d’expédition à destination des Philippines & CBSA seizes 300 kg of methamphetamine in shipping container destined for the Philippines
Canadian Armed Forces rebalances operations to strengthen global footprint
Canadian Navy frigate fires torpedo during major Pacific naval exercise an RCN first The FIRST firing of a Mark 54 TORPEDO! (Editor – 2:29 min video) & PREMIER tir d’une TORPILLE Mark 54! (Éditeur – MRC 2 :29 min vidéo) and info Mark 54 lightweight torpedo and Northrop Grumman Taps Karman for US Navy MK 54 Torpedo Training Program
Davie Autonomous Launched in Ontario
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Reviewing the New Submarine Purchase (Editor -Esprit de Corps 5:18 min video)
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: The Recruiting Illusion (Editor – Esprit de Corps 6:25 min video)
Plus de 100 ans à DÉFENDRE le Canada en MER! L’histoire de la Réserve navale du Canada (Éditeur – MRC 9 :10 min vidéo) Over 100 Years DEFENDING Canada at SEA! The History of Canada’s Naval Reserve (Editor – RCN 9:10 min video)
Gov. Gen. Arbour pays tribute to the Royal Canadian Legion on its 100th birthday plus Minister of Veterans Affairs congratulates The Royal Canadian Legion on its 100th anniversary & La ministre des Anciens Combattants félicite la Légion royale canadienne à l’occasion de son 100e anniversaire
Work on new housing complex at CFB Esquimalt to start this month
First Nation Challenges Vancouver Port Dredging Approval Over Tanker Expansion Concerns
Port of Québec advances shore power project for cruise vessels
Lookout: 13 July 2026 Volume 71, Issue 14 & 13 juillet volume 71, numéro 14
Trident: Monday 13vJuly 2026 Volume 60, Issue 14 & Lundi 13 juillet 2026 Volume 60, édition 14
NAC Naval Affairs: Niobe Papers, No. 26 Sustaining Sovereignty – Logistics, Presence and Operational Effectiveness in Canada’s Arctic 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.
ARCTIC, 7 marginal seas and Canada’s archipelago
Royal Navy carrier strike group spearheads NATO Arctic deterrence mission with Cat-and-mouse games at sea
CDAI: Why Canada Turned to Australia for Arctic Surveillance (Editor – 47:34 min podcast)
CIMSEC: Polar Primer: Arctic and Antarctic Governance
South Korea Dispatches Icebreaker ‘Araon’ to Assess Arctic Shipping Potential
U.S. Coast Guard Tracks Chinese Icebreakers as They Transit U.S. Arctic Waters then Coast Guard Secures The U.S. Arctic As Chinese Research Vessels Arrive In The Bering Sea
Small reactor, big mission: Feds fund CSMC’s Arctic nuclear plan
Nuclear icebreaker escorts North Pole platform from Greenland Sea
Construction of Arctic LNG platforms resumes as China-made modules arrive in Belokamenka
Luxury yachts crowd around Svalbard; among them is Oleg Tinkov’s La Datcha (Editor – not something you see every day!)
USA & AMERICAS and the Caribbean Sea
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 13, 2026 and USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 20, 2026
CIMSEC: The Curious Rise of Military Bullshit
Republican Senators Introduce Bill to Create Service Secretary for the Coast Guard
Pete Hegseth puts cost of Iran war at $37.5 billion as the Pentagon seeks more money from Congress
U.S. Navy Tripoli Group Shifts F-35B Fighters From Pacific Drills to Middle East Combat Operations
US Navy moving forward on West Coast dock for aircraft carriers
The US Shipbuilding Industry Is Not Ready for a War
U.S. Polar Security Cutter Delayed to 2033 as Costs Top $6 Billion, GAO Warns
US Coast Guard Opens Tender for Next-Generation Light Icebreakers
CIMSEC: Congress Needs to Fix Navy Posture Statements (Editor – the USN is not alone in this)
CIMSEC: Toward a Navy Fatigue Management Program (Editor – ditto)
USS Abraham Lincoln Sets Record of Over 210 Consecutive Days at Sea
Oiler USNS Kanawha Receives Presidential Unit Citation for Unprecedented Middle East Deployment
USS Fort Lauderdale Returns from 11-month Deployment to the Caribbean
Northrop Grumman wins $1.2bn US Navy contract for new E-2D Block II aircraft
ABS Grants AIP for Nuclear-Powered 15,000 TEU Containership Concept
US Navy christens newest Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Inside the NEW Expeditionary Sea Base — The Last One Ever Built (Editor – 10:04 min video)
Why Submarines STOPPED Firing Torpedoes From The Nose (Editor – 0:47 sec video)
US Navy 2 years behind on hypersonic missile installation on Zumwalt destroyers
U.S. Air Force Increases Stealthy Cruise, Anti-ship Missile Production
US Advances Golden Dome With $2B Missile Tracking Ship Program
Falklands guard ship HMS Medway at the centre of a diplomatic storm with Argentina FUMES as British Warship Enters Its Territorial Waters (Editor – 0:56 min video)
Joint Venture Brings Ukraine’s Magura Attack USVs to the United States
Saronic picks Texas for $3B next-generation autonomous shipyard
American Mariners Protest Chinese Tanker as Jones Act Waiver Faces Growing Scrutiny
27 bodies recovered, dozens feared dead after passenger ferry sinks off coast of Guyana
Port of Los Angeles Tops 1 Million TEUs in Record June
NOAA Warns El Niño Could Rank Among Strongest on Record, Raising Shipping Concerns
Court Gives Peru Oversight of Chinese-Built Port in Geopolitical Battle
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and 22+ marginal seas:
South China Sea Rivalry Looms Over ASEAN Meeting
Philippine Sailor Injured in Violent Clash with China Coast Guard off Second Thomas Shoal eventually China permits humanitarian transfer of injured Philippine personnel from illegally grounded warship at Ren’ai Jiao: CCG then Video: Chinese Again Use Water Cannons on Philippine Coast Guard Vessel
China drives away Philippine vessels intruding into Huangyan Dao waters: spokesperson (Editor – Chinese perspective)
South Korea Confirms Detaining Vessel Smuggling for North Korea
Multinational Crews Fly on U.S. Navy Poseidons for RIMPAC
What China’s carrier recruitment drive says about PLA Navy’s long-term ambitions
Why navies still matter in the age of drones
India Reaffirms Support For UNCLOS In South China Sea Disputes with India’s BrahMos Missile Arc Redefines South China Sea Deterrence
Someone is showing a lot of underwater interest in Indonesia’s straits
CIMSEC: Performance Is Not Endurance: Sustaining Combat Power in Contested Operations
Coast Guard Ends Middle East Mission, Moves Cutter Squadron to Western Pacific
CIMSEC: Guam’s Logistics Capacity Must Be Increased
Indonesia Set to Receive Ex-Italian Aircraft Carrier Garibaldion 20 September
USNI News Western Pacific Pulse: July 10, 2026
China’s upgraded Y-9 submarine hunter enters military drills with new radar systems
Typhoon USV Completes First-Ever At-Sea Resupply with USS Essex
New Australian-designed stern landing vessel completes beach trials
Indian Ocean and 4 major marginal seas:
More Than 500 Feared Dead After Reported Shipwrecks Off Myanmar’s Coast, UN Says
Pacific Partnership 2026, HMAS Choules Arrive In Indonesia with Canadian leadership shines at Pacific Partnership 2026 & Le leadership canadien à l’honneur lors de Pacific Partnership 2026
Navy Charts ₹1 Lakh Crore Warship Build-Up With Projects 15C, 17B And 18A
India Commissions Indigenous Stealth Frigate INS Mahendragiri Armed With BrahMos Missiles
RAFALE-M Touchdown: Deck Trials on INS Vikrant Before Navy Induction
India Is Building a Dam Across the Sea (Editor – extraordinary project – 9:28 min video)
EUROPE
Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas:
Michael Clarke: Why has Zelenskyy sacked Ukraine’s most senior defence figures? (Editor – not a maritime article but a intriguing assessment in a 19:17 min video)
India Summons Russian Envoy After Four Sailors Killed in Ukraine with Russian Attack on Corn Ship Off Ukraine’s Odesa Kills 10
How to Fight the US Navy on the Cheap (Editor – one to ponder…finding the balance)
Ukraine’s Naval Blitz – The Azov Sea Escalation, Russian Retaliation & Export Economics (Editor – long but worth it 56:37 min video)
48 Ships in 120 Hours: Ukraine’s Campaign to Cut Off Crimea (+28 more on July 11: A Total of 76) (Editor – 23:26 min video) and Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 12, 2026 eventually Ukraine’s Tally of Russian Shipping Strikes Rises to 147
Ukraine ‘cuts off’ Crimea from Russia, plunging it into an energy crisis
Caspian Pipeline Consortium Oil Loadings Suspended After Drone Attacks On Tankers
Why are Ukraine’s military recruiters facing violence in their own country? (Editor – 1:05 min video – what an awful situation after 4 years of war) and background Rethinking Ukraine’s Manpower Challenge
CIMSEC: Covert Maritime Intelligence and Russia’s Shadow Fleet
Russia and Ukraine Strikes Hit Key Grain Sea Export Ports with Fuel crisis and drone attacks on ships stall Russian grain
What Ukraine is bringing to the war against Iran | About That (Editor – CBC 2:58 min video)
Baltic Sea:
Defence Team News | Removing explosive threats from the Baltic Sea (Editor – RCN 1:53 min video) & Nouvelles de l’Équipe de la Défense | Élimination de menaces explosives dans la mer Baltique (Éditeur – MRC 1:53 min vidéo)
New concept explores converting commercial ships into drone carriers
Torpedo tube-launched USV wraps up acceptance tests
Mediterranean Sea and its 15 marginal seas:
New era for Gibraltar with removal of 118-year-old border controls with Spain
Syrians Outline Future Russian Port Presence in Tartus
General:
NATO’s Maritime Standing Groups: What Are They All About? (Editor – useful summary in a 10:06 min video)
Spanish Navy to Lead NATO’s Atlantic Task Force Until June 2027
France’s Plan to Build a Mini NATO Explained (Editor – 8:52 min video)
UK buys strategic energy site to support future naval operations
NAVANTIA lays the keel of the F113 frigate at the Ferrol shipyard seven months ahead of schedule (Editor – another ship using the SPY-7 radar)
The German Navy can’t get enough P-8 patrol aircraft
Why Britain Sent Its Largest Aircraft Carrier to Hunt Russian Subs | WSJ (Editor – 9:36 min video)
The German Navy downsizes its frigate ambitions
UK River-class Batch 1 patrol ships still to bow out in 2028
Royal Navy’s last Hunt-class minehunter to go by 2031
Long-Deployed Russian Frigate Leaves English Channel
Belgium Eyes ASWF Alternatives as Damen Timeline and Costs Soar
UK outlines thinking behind binning plans for new destroyers and Uncrewed missile ship prototype to join British fleet by 2030
UK injects £26 billion into three naval bases under decade-long modernization plan
Sea Breeze 2026: the Royal Navy hosts Ukraine and allies to build mine warfare expertise
UK to buy three mine hunting motherships
How the US Navy Blinds Russia’s “Unsinkable” Fortress (Editor – 16:38 min video)
Type 45 Destroyer may get life extension after all
Allied EOD Units Strengthen Underwater Interoperability At Sea Breeze 2026
XV Excalibur – Royal Navy learning to fight with autonomous submarines
Saab Receives $8.7B SEK Order for German Navy MEKO Frigates
HYDIS project advances with selection of European counter-hypersonic interceptor concept
EU Paid Nearly €6 Billion for Russian Arctic LNG in First Half of 2026 Despite Phase-Out Plan (Editor – 136 cargoes!) and EU Lawmakers Urge Denmark’s Fayard to Halt Servicing of Russian Arctic LNG Fleet
Near-Record Low Water Levels Leave Cruise Vessels Stranded and Danube Water Levels Reach Lowest in 30 Years, Hampering Farming and Shipping
MIDDLE EAST
Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire Over as U.S. Unveils New Sanctions then Trump says U.S. is reimposing shipping blockade amid renewed Iranian attacks eventually Trump threatens to bomb bridges and power plants unless Iran resumes talks and follows through as U.S. hits Iranian bridges, tower following Trump’s threats against infrastructure
Shipping Insurance Costs for Red Sea Voyages Surge After Houthi Attacks
U.S. has Moved up to 500 Million Barrels of Oil Through Gulf of Oman, Hegseth says however Second Tanker Abandoned in 24 Hours After Latest Strait of Hormuz Attack
Iran Warns More Seaways Could Close as US Reimposes Naval Blockade then Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi tanker as US launches more Iran strikes and 2 tankers carrying Saudi oil reverse course in Red Sea after Houthi threat, amid widening U.S.-Iran war
Two oil tankers hit mines near Strait of Hormuz — IRGC
Stricken Greek Product Tanker Appears to Be in Iranian Custody
France Pulls Back Carrier and Reshuffles Arabian Sea Flotilla
Countries Must Reject Iran Efforts to Control Hormuz, UN Agency Document Says
VIDEO: 3 Lethal U.S. Drones Attack Iranian Sub, Port Facility
Iran, U.S. strikes ramp up as Tehran declares peace deal abandoned with Iran Tells Houthis to Close Red Sea Gateway if U.S. Hits Power Network
Iranian Submarine Force Consigned to History with CENTCOM Deploys Saronic Corsair USV Against Iranian Submarine At Bandar Abbas and US drone boat attack on Iran (Editor – useful 1:50 min video)
Iranian Missile Attacks Hit Three More Tankers as U.S. Expands Strikes, Seafarer Death Toll Rises
Red Sea Shipping Faces Renewed Risk as Iran Signals Pressure Beyond Hormuz with Suspected Pirates Seize Tanker Off Yemen Coast in Gulf of Aden, Sources Say
US Aircraft Disables Curacao‑Flagged Tanker Amid Renewed Blockade On Iran
Dubai and DP World Confirm Plans to Expand Fujairah Port to Bypass Hormuz
GLOBAL INTERESTS
Chinese navy hospital ship sets sail for humanitarian medical mission in Africa, South Asia
Ocean Surface Temperatures Are Setting New Records Again and El Niño is here, and it’s already looking like it could be ‘mind-blowing’
Fluorine-Free Firefighting Foam: Choosing a Shipboard AFFF Replacement Before the Deadline
SCUTTLEBUTT
British Salvers Horrifying Discovery of Locked and Loaded Torpedoes! (Editor – 0:54 sec video)
Which Country Has The Best Navy Autocannon? (Editor – 0:59 sec video)
Lloyd’s of London – Insuring Success at Sea (Editor – 32:13 min video)
The German Battleship Turret Reused for Coastal Defense : Austrått Fort (Editor – 1:22 min video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
27 July 1953 The Korean Armistice is signed, ending three years of war. The war is technically still ongoing today. The first Canadian military response was made by the RCN less than two weeks after the outbreak of hostilities when three destroyers, HMC Ships Cayuga, Athabaskan, and Sioux set sail for the Far East. They arrived in the theatre of operations later that summer, ready to take part in the battle for the Pusan bridgehead in Korea. Five other tribal class destroyers, HMCS Crusader, Huron, Iroquois, Nootka, and Haida, served with the “Canadian Destroyer Division, Far East” as part of the United Nations (UN) fleet halfway around the world in the waters off Korea during the war. Overall, some 26,000 Canadians served, 516 died and more than 1,200 were wounded. On 8 June 2010, the Senate of Canada unanimously adopted a motion to acknowledge and endorse July 27 each year as National Korean War Veterans Day.
29 July 1948 HMCS Royal Roads is transformed into a Canadian Service College, Royal Roads and begins training flight cadets, as well as naval cadets.
29 July 1972 HMCS Iroquois, the first of the four DDH 280 class destroyers, is commissioned. HMC Ships Huron, Athabaskan, and Algonquin were to follow. They were paid off on 1 May 2015, 31 May 2005, 10 Mar 2017, and 11 June 2015 respectively.
29 July 2008 HMCS St. John’s, with one Sea King aboard, deploys for drug patrols in the Caribbean. During her deployment, St. John’s is diverted to provide humanitarian assistance in Haiti, which had been hit by four hurricanes.
31 July 1940 HMCS Prince Robert, after conversion from a merchant vessel, is commissioned as an armed merchant cruiser.
31 July 1942 HMCS Skeena commanded by A/LCdr Kenneth L. Dyer, RCN with HMCS Wetaskiwin commanded by LCdr Guy S. Windeyer, RCN sank U-588 in the North Atlantic.
31 July 1942 RCAF Hudson 625 of 113 (BR) Squadron flown by Squadron Leader N.E. Small DFC, AFC and his crew while on patrol sank U-754 north of Boston near Yarmouth Nova Scotia. Squadron Leader Small was a former Trans-Canada Airway pilot before the war was killed in action during a crash in Newfoundland in 1943.
31 July 1942 The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS and popularly referred to as “Wrens” after their WRNS colleagues) is authorized, achieving a WW2 peak of 5,893 and while the service existed 6,783 women in total serving in the WRCNS. 1000 served overseas and 11 died on active service from sickness or accidents. “Wrens” served in 39 trades, including administrative and clerical work, signalling, coding, and wireless telegraphy. HMCS Conestoga, formerly Bytown II, was established for the basic training establishment for the WRCNS. This was a volunteer service composed of women and was separate from the Volunteer Reserve. HMCS Conestoga was in the former Grandview School for Girls, a detention centre for ‘wayward’ girls in Galt, ON. That past quickly became a running joke, but the facility, with existing residences, teaching space, an administration building, and cafeteria, was perfectly suited to its new purpose, and the Wrens quickly made it their home. Basic training at Conestoga lasted three weeks, after which the women would move on to specialist training at other facilities.
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 Garry Weir’s For Prosperity’s Sake RCN historical project site.
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