NAC News – Edition K679 HMCS Magog
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of August 7, 2026
Edition K679 HMCS Magog (River Class Frigate – torpedoed near Pointe-des-Monts, Quebec) Quote: “The oceans connect the nations of the world, even those countries that are landlocked. Because the maritime domain – the world’s oceans, seas, bays, estuaries, islands, coastal areas, littorals, and the airspace above them – supports 90% of the world’s trade, it carries the lifeblood of a global system that links every country on earth. Covering three quarters of the planet, the oceans make neighbours of people around the world. They enable us to help friends in need and to confront and defeat aggression far from our shores.” USN/USMC/USCG – A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, October 2007
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 an 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
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
‘History is back with a vengeance,’ Carney says (Editor – a repeat, but a great summary in this National Post 1:59 min video)
‘Significant Shrinking’ in Crude Cushion In Coming Months – Vortexa (Editor – Wars and conflict have often been driven by competition for natural resources, UNDP Signals Spotlight 2024.)
Russia Assembles Unprecedented Arctic Oil Convoy to Bypass Global Shipping Hotspots and then Russia Sends Arctic Oil Tanker Shadow Fleet Within 500 Nautical Miles of North Pole
CANADA
One of Calgary’s most decorated Second World War veterans dies at 101 (Editor – In case you missed this, please see more details in last week’s edition)
BATTLESHIP (Editor – odd title for an interesting article)
Lurkers in the deep: How Canada’s new submarines will be used in peace and potential war
The Real Test Of Canada’s New Submarine Fleet
Open letter to Canadian submarine crew
L’opération North Pacific Guard renforce les relations avec le Japon et assure la surveillance des pêches hauturières dans le cadre d’une patrouille menée dans l’ensemble du Pacifique & Operation North Pacific Guard strengthens relations with Japan, monitors high seas fisheries during Pacific-wide patrol
Vancouver Shipyards achieves structural consolidation of JSS2 with installation of kingposts (Editor – missed this one from April)
Rebalancing or retreat? Canada’s peacekeeping legacy fades away
Canadian Armed Forces doubles down on prayer ban, faith leaders prepare response
What It Takes to Qualify on a Canadian Submarine (Editor – amusing 8:42 min video)
Canada has just four qualified submarine commanders
Canada needs more crew for new subs
CDR: Beyond the Recruiting Boom
Canada Charters Finnish Icebreaker Nordica to Support Arctic Operations
Polar progress at Seaspan: One year into the build of Canada’s most capable icebreaker (Editor – Seaspan 2:45 min video)
Esquimalt vessels wrap up major RIMPAC maritime exercise with HMCS Corner Brook SINKEX of decommissioned USS Mobile Bay, Exercise RIMPAC 2026, July 12, 2026 (Editor – 2:00 min video)
“It’s a great job, and honestly, I’m really lucky.” (Editor – RCN 1:20 min video)
Anciens Combattants Canada octroie un contrat pour la réalisation d’un examen indépendant du Programme de services de réadaptation et d’assistance professionnelle & Veterans Affairs Canada awards contract for independent review of Rehabilitation Services and Vocational Assistance Program
392 véhicules volés d’une valeur de 28 millions de dollars retrouvés dans le cadre du projet pilote NoCargo & 392 stolen vehicles recovered in Project NoCargo pilot, valued at $28 million
Cargo ship grounded off Newfoundland to finally be pulled ashore (Editor – CBC News 1:55 min video)
One Year Later: HaiSea Celebrates 100 Successful LNG Carrier Escorts Into Kitimat
NAC Naval Affairs: Niobe Papers, No. 2 The RCN in the Arctic: A Brief History with other 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
To help solve the North’s ‘energy deficit’, Ottawa looks at nuclear options
Le gouvernement du Canada attribue un contrat de communications militaires visant à soutenir la souveraineté dans l’Arctique et la sécurité nationale & The Government of Canada awards a military communications contract to support Arctic sovereignty and national security
Russian shipbuilder targets cruiser hand-over by end of 2026 but Did Russia Just Build the World’s Most Expensive Target? (Editor – 18:12 min video)
Fiber-Optic Cables Can be Used to Track “Silent” Bow Wave Vibrations (Editor – one wonders what else can be tracked this way?)
Trump Administration Proposes Rolling Back Obama-Era Arctic Drilling Rules
New LNG terminal and reservoir park under construction in Kola Bay
USA & AMERICAS and the Caribbean Sea
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Aug. 3, 2026
The U.S. Built 62 Nuclear Subs. Now They’re Disappearing. (Editor – the challenge of large block building of vessels and block obsolescence explained in a 1:38 min video)
US Navy to reclassify some Virginia-class submarines to indicate guided missile capability
Raytheon installs first SPY-6(V)4 radar at Wallops ahead of DDG upgrade and What is the difference between SPY-1 and SPY-6 radars?
Southcom Establishes Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere
After nearly 40 years and 14 ships, the Avenger-class nears its final departure from the U.S. Navy
First Trump-class Battleship Could Cost $23.4B, Says CBO
Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance in the Western Hemisphere
Diehl, BAE to Extend Mk 45 Naval Gun Range With Vulcano Ammo (Editor – Fraser Class will have this gun…with this ammo?)
US Navy expands Saildrone Voyager missions following major cocaine seizure
US/Norway Operation Arctic Cohesion 2026
US Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer christened
Boeing Cleared To Produce New GBU-75 Joint Direct Attack Munition Long Range
Tech Demo Proves Out MQ-4C Triton And P-8 Poseidon Enhanced Interoperability
Firestorm Labs builds drones aboard USS Essex without shore resupply
US Wants to Win the GPS War With ‘Hammer of the Gods’
The INSANITY of Narco Submarines (Editor – summary in a 10:02 min video)
Panama Canal to Tighten Draft Limits Again as Water Levels Continue to Fall
South America’s gas boom on the rise with Petrobras’ new discovery in Colombian waters and Brazil’s Oil Output Hits Record as War Drives Up Non-OPEC Supply
A blanket of seaweed smothers coastlines from the Caribbean to Mexico with As Seaweed Piles Up, Caribbean Bets On Boats, Barriers And Biofuel
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and 22+ marginal seas:
Why Forward Presence Still Matters In The Indo-Pacific
How 30 Nations Prepare for Potential War With China and North Korea | WSJ (Editor – RIMPAC in a 10:22 min video)
From the ANI Archives: The Sea is a Highway, not a Barrier
China’s defense ministry vows firm countermeasures against Philippine provocations over Huangyan Dao
US uncrewed vessel’s Chinese encounter
OPINION | North Korea’s naval buildup will stretch allied forces across the Indo-Pacific
Mitsubishi Launches New Large Patrol Vessel for Japan Coast Guard
How This Underwater Drone Protects Global Shipping (Editor – 1:57 min video and why this matters) How Singapore Port Dominates Global Shipping (Editor – 8:47 min video)
China Coast Guard Patrols Waters East of Taiwan, Angering Taipei
One AUKUS element by-passing scrutiny
Indian Ocean and 4 major marginal seas:
India Launches Fifth Diving Support Craft DSC A24
India’s ₹90,000‑Crore Submarine Deal With Germany Hinges On Hidden Endurance
Pakistan Extends Naval Reach Into Bay of Bengal With Chinese-Built Submarine
Rescuers say 5 dead, unknown number of people missing after Indonesian ferry fire
EUROPE
Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas:
Over 1,000 port infrastructure facilities damaged in Odessa Region — portal and Geran drones strike five dry cargo ships at Nikolayev port, near Odessa
Ukraine Uses MAGURA Drone Boat to Hit Russian Radar Sites in Crimea
Port blockade threatens half of Ukraine’s iron ore exports, report says
Civilian Vessel Sinks In Black Sea After Ukrainian Drone Attack
Russian subs submerge in harbour fearing Ukrainian drones
Two Shipping Lines Suspend Service to Russia’s Black Sea Ports
Fire reported aboard ship off Ukraine’s Odessa Region coast
Russian Transport Ministry sets up HQ to coordinate transportation in Azov-Black Sea basin
Baltic Sea:
Keel-laying ceremony held for Finnish Navy’s fourth Pohjanmaa-class corvette
Mediterranean Sea and its 15 marginal seas:
EU Forces Board Sanctioned Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker
Report: U.S. European Command Needs Extra Destroyer to Defend Israel
General:
CIMSEC: Russia’s Drone Machinations: Reflexive Control and Cognitive Warfare in the Maritime Domain
Royal Navy shadowed 61 Russian warships around UK waters with Russian Navy Augments its Long-Term Presence in English Channel
UK Targets Arctic LNG Carrier, Five Oil Tankers in Latest Russia Sanctions Package
How Dutch thinking shaped the Royal Navy’s next amphibious ship
Scores rescued after boat catches fire in English Channel
Europe’s Shrinking Rivers Curb Power Output, Transport and Company Earnings with the result Hungary Stops Nuclear Plant For First Time As Danube River Dries Up then Viking River Cruise Ship Evacuated After Grounding on the Danube and another consequence Ghostly Nazi Germany fleet emerges from the Danube due to Europe’s scorching heatwave (Editor – with 0:37 sec video) and so Germany Confronts Rhine Threat to Economy After Crisis Talks
UK Government Ends Royal Fleet Auxiliary Labor Dispute with Pay Increase
First NH90 Block 1 helicopter completes maiden flight
New Mine-Laying And Marine Environment Vessels Ordered By The Royal Danish Navy (Editor – 4:06 min video)
India And UK Launch Autonomous Platforms And Uncrewed Systems Working Group At Farnborough
Royal Navy demonstrates Wildcat helicopter controlling aerial drones
Iceland Seizes Paul Watson Foundation’s Boat as it Tracks Whale Hunt
MIDDLE EAST
Exhaustion, low morale plague USS Lincoln crew outside Iran
Dozens of Idling Iranian Oil Tankers Show US Blockade Is Working (Editor – tactically great, strategically a disaster. Everybody loses.)
China vetting US’s mistakes in Iran
Iran Denies Talks With the U.S. Are Back On. Trump Insists They Are however Iran Says Hormuz Shipping Route Announcement With Oman Nears
US Has Used ‘Virtually All’ of Its Long-Range Precision Missiles During Iran War, Sources Say
Houthis Escalate Red Sea Campaign, Claim Eighth Saudi Tanker Attack
Indian Cargo Vessel Sinks After Apparent Attack Near Yemen with India condemns “unprovoked” attack that sank cargo ship off Yemen
Oil Spill from Shadow Fleet Tanker Spreading Off Oman, Satellite Images Show
GasLog LNG Carrier Damaged Exiting Hormuz as UKMTO Reports Two New Attacks
Saudi Ships Shun Red Sea Chokepoint for Rare Africa Journey and Six Saudi Tankers Turn Away From Gulf of Aden, Ship-tracking Data Shows however Saudi’s Yanbu Port Bustles as More Tankers Cross Chokepoint Dark
Yemen’s Houthis Deny Plans To Impose Fees On Ships Sailing Through Red Sea
Italian Frigate Escorts Merchant Vessel Safely Through Red Sea
Saudi MMSC Vessels Face Additional Design Fixes and Delays
GLOBAL INTERESTS
Only Losers in Territorial Wars — Sarah Paine (Editor – 1:33 min video)
SCUTTLEBUTT
USS North Carolina : A battleship built for speed and power (Editor – 1:38 min video)
Where Are All 4 Iowa-Class Battleships Now (Editor – 15:35 min video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
8 August 1813 US Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s ships Hamilton and Scourge capsize in minutes in a heavy gale off Forty Mile Creek on Lake Ontario, and 53 sailors drown; the ships were putting on extra sail to escape British Captain James Yeo’s fleet and sank from a shift in weight of the guns; largest loss of life suffered by the United States Navy in the war. Yeo did not see the disaster happen and did not press his advantage.
8 August 1944 German U-boat U-667 torpedoes and sinks RCN Flower Class corvette HMCS Regina off Trevose Head, Cornwall, UK; thirty of her ship’s company are lost. Between 1939 and 1945, 36 Flower-Class corvettes were lost between the four navies operating them, of which 22 were torpedoed by enemy U-boats. On the balance sheet the RCN sank 33 Axis submarines, 30 German and 3 Italian. During World War II Germany built 1,162 U-boats, of which 785 were destroyed and the remainder surrendered (or were scuttled to avoid surrender) at the capitulation. Of the 632 U-boats sunk at sea, Allied surface ships and shore-based aircraft accounted for the great majority (246 and 245 respectively).
9 August 1945 Temporary Lt (RCNVR) Robert Hampton Gray VC, DSC was shot down and killed in a dive-bombing raid at Onagawa Bay as he attacked and sank a Japanese destroyer. Gray was serving with the Royal Navy as a Corsair pilot aboard HMS Formidable. For his actions Gray was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. As Gray’s remains were never found, he was listed as missing in action and presumed dead. In 1989, in Sakiyami Park, Japan, Gray became the first member of the Allied Forces honoured by the Japanese with a memorial and it is the only memorial dedicated to a foreign soldier on Japanese soil. Of Canadian naval VC recipients, although they were all serving in or with the RN, Lt Gray was the only actual member of the RCN and one of the two Canadian born Naval personnel to receive the VC during the Second World War. Lt Gray was tragically one of the last Canadians to die during World War II and was the second to last Canadian to ever be awarded the Victoria Cross. Lt Gray is the most highly decorated pilot from BC who along with VC, and DSC, he was extraordinarily well-travelled earning 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp, War Medal 1939-45 with Oak Leaf (Mentioned-in-Despatches). This history is now recognized at North Saanich’s BC Aviation Museum with a three-piece monument following a campaign led by a group of former navy members and members of the Naval Association of Canada. It is fitting that among Canadian men and women who acquired 1,677 British and 64 foreign decorations, that this highest recognition should have gone to one of the many Canadians who spent much or all the war apart from the main body of the RCN. Altogether some 4,000 men and women served for varying periods “on loan” to the Royal Navy. The RCN’s sixth and final Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) HMCS Robert Hampton Gray is named in his honour and was commissioned 9 August 2025 on the 80th anniversary of his death.
9 August 1941 HMC Ships Assiniboine and Restigouche escort HMS Prince of Wales, with Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard, into Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.
10 August 1813 Sir James Yeo’s forces capture American schooners USS Julia and USS Growler in an engagement near Twelve Mile Creek on Lake Ontario; the British rename the schooners Confiance and Hamilton and will use them as troop transports until Isaac Chauncey recaptures them near False Ducks Islands on 5 October. New York State.
10 August 1941 US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill have their second meeting at Placentia, Newfoundland aboard the USS Augusta; four days later they will issue the Atlantic Charter setting forth eight goals for the world; a document that will serve as the basis for the United Nations Charter.
11 August 1954 HMCS Venture is commissioned in Esquimalt, BC, as a naval cadet training establishment. It would go forward in one form or another until today’s HMCS Venture is the home for most of the naval elements of the Naval Warfare and Technical Officers’ training as well as an expanded role as the home of all leadership training for the RCN. Current Venture motto: To learn, To serve, To lead.
12 August 1814 Capt (RN) Alexander Hobbs, commanding 70 seamen and marines, attacks three U.S. armed schooners supporting Major General Jacob Brown’s Fort Erie campaign; masquerading as American supply boats, the British board and seize USS Somers and USS Ohio while USS Porcupine escapes; the vessels are renamed Huron and Sauk; last naval engagement on Lake Erie in the war.
12 August 1917 HMCS Shearwater and submarines CC-1 and CC-2 are the first Canadian warships to pass through the Panama Canal. They arrive in Halifax 14 Oct but are deemed unfit for transatlantic crossing and remain in Halifax.
12 August 1919 Born Winnipeg Manitoba and subsequently Captain(N) Godfrey Harry Hayes, OMM, DSC, CD went to HMS Conway, Liverpool, England and nominated for a commission in Royal Naval Reserve on leaving Conway summer 1938. Appointed to HMS King Orry (former passenger ferry) as Navigation Officer (rank of Midshipman) from 25 April 1940 to 29 May 1940. His ship was sunk at Dunkirk on 29 May 1940 on its second trip to Dunkirk. Joined HMS Gatinais (a former transport ship) as Navigation Officer from July 1940 to June 1941 and operated a Mobile Balloon Barrage in English Channel. He was awarded the DSC for bravery in manning the mobile balloon barrage which were constantly attacked by aircraft and German ‘E’ Boats. He shot down an attacking aircraft one night. Transferred to RCNR in June 1941 and served in HMCS Trillium, HMCS Kenogami, Sea Training Staff, and HMCS Guelph as Convoy Visual Officer (CVO – light and flag signals officer) during the remainder of WW2. Served in many ships commanded HMCS St. Stephen (Frigate), HMCS Crescent (Destroyer), commissioned HMCS Saguenay as CO, 2nd Canadian Escort Squadron. Chief of Staff to Flag Officer Pacific Coast from August 1969 to summer of 1972. Base Commander, CFB Esquimalt from Summer of 1972 until retirement on 55th birthday 12 August 1974. Two-year term as President N.O.A.C. now NAC, and Western Representative of Canadian Naval Memorial Trust.
12 August 2010 HMCS Winnipeg intercepts a Thai ship, the MV Sun Sea carrying Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka, off the coast of British Columbia. BC.
13 August 1813 British schooner HMS Nancy discovered and trapped by a US squadron at the Nottawasaga River; Capt Lt Miller Worsley of the Royal Navy, warned of a close American presence, had the Nancy towed two miles up the river, where he built a blockhouse armed with two 24-pounder carronades and a 6-pounder gun from the schooner; his force consisted of 21 sailors, 23 Ojibwa and 9 French-Canadian voyageurs; the following day, 14 August, some American wood-cutting parties discovered the schooner’s hiding place, and Worsley was forced to scuttle the ship. Wasaga Beach, Ontario.
13 August 2010 The MV Sun Sea, carrying 490 Tamil migrants from Sri Lanka, is towed to the docks at CFB Esquimalt; the Thai cargo ship was intercepted off Vancouver Island on 12 August; the Tamils are moved to detention centres in the Vancouver area to await processing of their refugee claims.
14 August 1944 HMCS Iroquois commanded by CDR James C. Hibbard, DSC, RCN during a mixed melee ran German minesweeper M-385 aground.
14 August 1945 Japan offers its unconditional surrender.
14 August 1946 11 Naval Reserve Air Squadrons authorized to be formed. Not all were ever established.
14 Aug 2008 Leading Seaman Robert Teodor Binder MB, of Mississauga was a member of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Bravery on 26 November 2010. The citation to his award notes that on the night of 14 August 2008, at the age of nineteen, he and two others repeatedly dove and performed CPR to rescue the occupants of a sinking car.
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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