Maritime Awards Society of Canada

Registration for Maritime Security Challenges Conference 2010 is now underway!

MSC 2010, the 4th iteration in the successful MSC conference series, will take place in Victoria BC, from April 26-29th and promises to be a stimulating event with international participation and timely panel discussions including:

• Maritime Piracy
• Port Security
• New Naval Technologies
• Littoral and Riverine Operations
• Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

With the conference less than a month away, we encourage you to register now to secure your place at this premier maritime security event.

More information, including the full conference programme and registration details, can be found online.

We look forward to seeing you in April!

Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor Maritime Forces Pacific

Last Sunday, HMCS Fredericton with her 245 servicemen and women departed from Halifax for a six-month deployment to the Middle East.  Fredericton will be integrated into Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1), which conducts counterterrorism and counterpiracy operations in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.  Canadian officials claim that these naval missions are a continuous imperative to maintaining good order on the sea and preserving regional stability in and around the Middle East.

(Courtesy “Daily Intelligence Brief”. World Naval Edition, October 27 2009. Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy)

‘Hard-sell’ navy targets lagging military profile
Ottawa Citizen, 14 October 2009

Chief of Maritime Staff Vice-Admiral McFadden has said that the Navy has reached bottom in terms of its recruiting and retention problems, and that he is cautiously optimistic that new initiatives will replenish thinning ranks.  The Navy currently has 7,900 full-time and 3,345 reservist personnel, though it faces a shortfall of around 1,000 full-time sailors by 2011.  Reasons cited for this looming gap include recruiting centres’ focus on the Army because of the mission in Afghanistan, attrition rates higher than the other two military branches, and a lack of awareness of the Navy, particularly in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.  New recruiting incentives to address the problem include subsidized education, which may have accounted for a recruiting increase in September, though it is too early to tell if such momentum can be sustained.  Other Western navies face similar problems to the Canadian Navy’s; the Royal Australian Navy has insufficient numbers to man its six Collins-class submarines, while many existing submariners are counting the days until their term of service expires.

(Courtesy “Daily Intelligence Brief”. World Naval Edition, October 21 2009. Office of the Asia-Pacific Advisor, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy)