By Timothy Choi, 1 October 2021 On 1 October, 2021, HMCS Harry DeWolf, first-of-class of the Arctic & Offshore Patrol Vessels, arrived in Vancouver following its 10,050 km long journey from Halifax via the Northwest Passage - the first RCN vessel to do so since HMCS Labrador in 1954. Along […]
Arctic Maritime Security
24 posts
Dr. Ann Griffiths, 5 August 2021 On 3 August, two US Coast Guard ships, plus HMCS Goose Bay and HMCS Harry DeWolf set sail from Halifax. From 3 August to 12 September 2021, approximately 250 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel will take part in Operation (Op) Nanook 2021, which will be […]
Dr. Ann Griffiths, 30 September 2020. There’s an interesting article in Foreign Affairs (29 September 2020) by Robert David English and Morgan Grant Gardner called “Phantom Peril in the Arctic: Russia Doesn’t Threaten the United States in the Far North – But Climate Change Does.” It’s about “ideologically driven threat […]
At the onset of the Cold War, it became clear that the Arctic was of strategic significance. So, for a brief period, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) established a presence there. But this presence was sporadic and largely abandoned with the transfer of HMCS Labrador - the navy’s only icebreaker […]
David Dunlop, 28 February 2020. Nuclear propulsion of submarines is ideal for long distances and extended under-ice missions. But is there a better, more affordable and collaborative way? Off-the-shelf air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarines such as the French Barracuda Block 1A class being designed for Australia or the Japanese Soyru-class AIP […]
David Dunlop, 20 February 2020. In light of the impact that global warming is having on Canada’s northern borders and the increased Arctic activity by countries other than Canada, it is becoming more urgent than ever that Canada take measures to display and maintain surveillance and sovereignty in the high […]
Among other things, the new government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that it will place emphasis on renewing the Canadian Coast Guard fleet. See the CBC news article here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coast-guard-fleet-refresh-top-priority-security-1.3318575
CNR, Vol. 11, No. 1 (2015) Abstract What could the future look like for Canadian submarines? What are the considerations necessary to develop a credible Canadian submarine capability for the 21st century? Two factors define Canada’s navy – geography and national will. A future Canadian submarine capability must be able […]
Major change is coming to the Royal Canadian Navy. In just a few months, Irving Shipbuilding will begin construction of the first vessel in the Combat Ship Program under the National Shipbuilding and Procurement Strategy. The Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), to be known as the DeWolf-class, will add many new […]
This Arctic, this Canadian Arctic is our business – ours to exploit, ours to defend. Commodore O.C.S. Robertson, RCN Astonishingly, the numerous deployments by the ships of the Royal Canadian Navy into the Canadian North have never been tabulated. Because of this, it is not known precisely how many ships […]