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Caribbean-Latin America
Cruise Ship 1 - Venezuelan Patrol Boat 0
2020-04-03
[Popular Mechanics] A Venezuelan Navy offshore patrol vessel Naiguata sent to intercept a lowly cruise ship accidentally owned itself. After ramming the cruise ship RCGS Resolute's steel-reinforced hull, the patrol boat sank with no injuries. The Resolute suffered only minor damage because it was reinforced to withstand iceberg-infested waters.
Ahh-SO! Not just regular steel-reinforced hull, but icebreaker-steel-reinforced hull.
A statement attributed to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro alleged that the cruise ship was actually to blame in an "act of aggression and piracy."
YJCMTSU.
Related:
Venezuelan Navy: 2019-05-14 Venezuelan Navy confronts US ship after entering territorial waters
Venezuelan Navy: 2019-02-24 Two of the gondolas on the Venezuela-Colombia border containing humanitarian aid burned
Venezuelan Navy: 2010-04-03 Patrol boat bought from Spain arrives in Venezuela
Posted by:Bobby

#19  Alanc, I've heard that joke for years. As a retired naval line officer, I have three comments: 1) the captain should be relieved for cause for not realizing he was approaching a light house, 2) The navigator and quartermaster of the watch should also be relieved. 3)The officer of the deck should also be relieved for not informing the CO that the target was stationary.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2020-04-03 15:51  

#18  Was it Sun Tzu that said "Never bring a Venezuelan patrol boat to an icebreaker fight" ?
Posted by: SteveS   2020-04-03 14:25  

#17   more details
Posted by: 3dc   2020-04-03 12:42  

#16  My favorite seaborne story --

The captain of a ship looked into the dark night and saw a light in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message, “Alter your course ten degrees south.” He promptly received a reply, “Alter your course ten degrees north.”

The furious captain sent another message, “Alter your course ten degrees south. I am a captain!” Soon another reply was received, “Alter your course ten degrees north. I am seaman third class Jones.”

The captain sent a final message, “Alter your course ten degrees south. I am a battleship.” The reply was, “Alter your course ten degrees north. I am a lighthouse.”
Posted by: AlanC   2020-04-03 10:13  

#15  This Venezuelan Patrol Ship Sunk Itself After Ramming A Cruise Liner With A Reinforced Hull

Posted by: Skidmark   2020-04-03 09:31  

#14  The Venezuelans used to have a pretty good Navy back twenty-five years ago before Chavez and the Eternal Now. Dad toured one of their German-sourced submarines one time, said it was pretty neat.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2020-04-03 09:27  

#13  :-)
Posted by: European Conservative   2020-04-03 08:28  

#12  Ha, ja, ja to my room! My offer of butt steak at the Pörrbacher Hof still stands. I have not forgotten.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-04-03 08:22  

#11  Geh in dein Zimmer Besoeker :-)
Posted by: European Conservative   2020-04-03 08:15  

#10  Hallo, hallo, this is the German Coast Guard.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-04-03 08:09  

#9  The mighty Bolivarian Navy: Divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

Cruise Ship: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

The mighty Bolivarian Navy: This is the Captain of a Bolivarian Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Cruise Ship: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

The mighty Bolivarian Navy: This is the most powerful anti-imperialist patrol vessel Naiguata, the second largest ship in the Bolivarian Navy fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a cruise ship with ice breaking capacities. Your call.

The might Bolivarian Navy: Ouuuuchhh!
Posted by: European Conservative   2020-04-03 08:04  

#8  ^ Good catch, Mercutio
Posted by: Frank G   2020-04-03 07:44  

#7  Bolivarian Rage (TM) meets Gross Tonnage

another article
Posted by: Mercutio   2020-04-03 07:16  

#6  So much for ramming speed, huh guys?
Posted by: Raj   2020-04-03 06:33  

#5  Venezuela must be a strange place to get attacked by cruise ship pirates :-)
Posted by: European Conservative   2020-04-03 06:21  

#4  Thanks EC
Posted by: Frank G   2020-04-03 06:14  

#3  Here's a picture
Posted by: European Conservative   2020-04-03 05:10  

#2  I was going to post this, but Rantburg is too damn fast :-)

Here's some additional info about that ship (RCGS Resolute is ex Hanseatic)

The Hanseatic is a cruise ship that was used for 25 years by the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten GmbH mainly for expedition trips. She has been classified by the classification society Germanischer Lloyd as "+ 100 A5 E4 with freeboard 2,106 m, Passenger Ship with Cabins, IW ERS P5D11". The hull of the Hanseatic meets the requirements of the highest ice class (E4, corresponding Finnish-Swedish ice class 1A Super). Since October 2018 the ship has been in service as RCGS Resolute for the Canadian shipping company One Ocean Expeditions.
Posted by: European Conservative   2020-04-03 05:05  

#1  ...The Venezuelans do NOT wanna go full Captain Jack at this point - I've been waiting for them to start grabbing merchant shipping (they've been harassing/extorting it now for a while), but if anything will bring the US down there to sort things out, this will. Kinda hard to board and hijack ships if they're all sunk at dockside.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2020-04-03 04:45  

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