german cruise liner sinks venezuelan warship

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A Venezuelan Warship Lost a Fight to a German Luxury Cruise Ship

During the early morning hours of March 30, 2020, the German cruise liner RCGS Resolute came under attack from a Venezuelan Navy warship.

It should have been an easy win but, like so many things in Venezuela's recent history, things did not go as planned.

The German ship, owned by One Ocean Expeditions, was in international waters and flying a Portuguese flag. It was adrift as it performed maintenance on one of its engines when it was intercepted by the Venezuelan patrol ship ANBV Naiguatá.

This encounter came just days after the Trump administration declared Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to be a wanted drug trafficker and One Ocean Expeditions filed for insolvency.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean Sea is full of U.S. Navy ships.

Knowing all this, Venezuelan Capt. Granadillo Medina, in command of Naiguatá, saw a ship that appeared to be inoperable, from a company that is essentially bankrupt, floating on the edge of Venezuelan waters -- all while a hostile Navy might be waiting for the right moment to pounce.

From that perspective, one might suspect the Resolute was doing more than just maintaining an engine. Whether they were or not is unclear.

Medina radioed a warning to the Germans, demanding to board the cruise ship for inspection.

The Germans had no passengers and were set to rendezvous with a sister ship in Curaçao. They were already worried about being late and declined to be boarded.

The Venezuelans next ordered the Resolute to sail under escort to the nearby port of Puerto Moreno on Isla De Margarita.

When the Germans again failed to comply, the patrol ship attacked. Naiguatá fired warning shots across the cruise liner's bow. What comes next is disputed by everyone involved.

The Germans allege that the Naiguatá went straight at the Resolute, hitting the cruise ship's bow at a 135-degree angle. The ramming was supposedly the Naiguatá's effort to point the ship toward the island and force her into Venezuelan waters.

The tactic did not have the effect the warship wanted.

The Resolute suffered very little damage, its seaworthiness unaffected. And instead of forcing the cruise ship to go anywhere, it was the warship that suffered massive damage. She quickly began to take on water.

What those on the Naiguatá didn't seem to know is that the Resolute is a purpose-built polar expedition vessel, designed to operate in the most dangerous sea ice conditions. Her hull was reinforced for that purpose. A patrol boat like Naiguatá would never have been able to damage such a hull.

The warning shots are not in dispute, but who rammed who is. The Venezuelans say that after the Naiguatá fired the shots, it tried to cross the Resolute's path and cut the cruise ship off. They also claim the Resolute fired up its engine and intentionally rammed the Naiguatá using its reinforced hull.

Repeatedly.

Venezuela released a recording of the encounter, which can be seen 40 seconds into the video below.

As the Naiguatá began to take on water, the Resolute departed for Curaçao, allegedly leaving 44 Venezuelan sailors to go down with their ship, a violation of international maritime law.

Luckily, they were rescued by another Venezuelan vessel.

The owners of the Resolute deny the ship left the sailors to die. The Resolute's crew says they contacted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Curaçao and asked whether the Venezuelans needed help. The Germans claim they were told they did not.

The only clear fact is that, after the incident, the Naiguatá went to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and no one was killed. But Maduro maintains the Resolute was planning acts of "terrorism and piracy" off of Venezuela's territorial waters.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at [email protected] , on Twitter @blakestilwell , or on Facebook .

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Venezuelan warship shoots, rams into German cruise vessel before sinking

Us indicted socialist venezuelan president for narcotics operation with terrorists.

RCGS Resolute is a purpose built polar expedition vessel of the highest ice class, rated 1A Super, designed to operate in difficult ice conditions. pic.twitter.com/AMLsae56Vn — Venezuela BTH (@VenezuelaBTH) April 1, 2020

Naval Patrol Boat Takes on Cruise Ship. Loses Real Bad.

Turns out you shouldn't ram a cruise ship built to withstand sea ice.

• The cruise ship, built to operate in iceberg-infested waters, suffered only minor damage and sailed to safety while the Venezuelan cruiser sank itself.
• No one was reported injured in the scrape.

The Venezuelan Navy offshore patrol vessel Naiguata, sent to intercept a lowly cruise ship, accidentally owned itself on Monday. After ramming the cruise ship RCGS Resolute 's steel-reinforced hull, the patrol boat sank. (The good news: There were no injuries.)

The Resolute suffered only minor damage because it was reinforced to withstand iceberg-infested waters .

According to Maritime Executive , the incident took place 13 nautical miles off the coast of Isla de Tortuga, an uninhabited Venezuelan island. The Naiguata ordered the Resolute to follow it to Venezuela and port, on the pretext of “violation of Venezuelan territorial waters.”

While the cruise ship crew was consulting with the home office, the navy vessel fired several warning shots and began ramming the cruise ship.

What the crew of the Naiguata apparently did not realize was that the Resolute ’s hull is stronger than average because of its iceberg-resistant hull. The ship’s website describes the hull as having “high density steel plating” to allow it to sail in “ice laden large waters.”

Columbia Cruise Services, operators of the Resolute , tell the ship’s side of the story :

While the Master was in contact with the head office, gun shots were fired and, shortly thereafter, the navy vessel approached the starboard side at speed with an angle of 135° and purposely collided with the RCGS RESOLUTE. The navy vessel continued to ram the starboard bow in an apparent attempt to turn the ship’s head towards Venezuelan territorial waters.

While the RCGS RESOLUTE sustained minor damages, not affecting vessel’s seaworthiness, it occurs that the navy vessel suffered severe damages while making contact with the ice-strengthened bulbous bow of the ice-class expedition cruise vessel RCGS RESOLUTE and started to take water.

The Naiguata ended up sinking. According to Columbia Cruise Services, Resolute stayed in the vicinity until the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Curaçao, the authority responsible for local incidents at sea, told it to continue on its voyage. Resolute also claims that offers to lend aid to the stricken ship were “left unanswered.”

The Venezuelan military disputed that , stating “the action of the ship Resolute is considered cowardly and criminal, since it did not attend to the rescue of the crew, in breach of the international regulations that regulate the rescue of life at sea.”

A statement attributed to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro alleged that the cruise ship was actually to blame in an "act of aggression and piracy."

After being released by the MRCC, the Resolute sailed on to safety, docking at the island of Curaçao .

The website FleetMon has a photo of damage to the Resolute ’s hull, which appears minor, as well as a file photo of the Naiguata . The Resolute , built in 1993, is 400 feet long and 59 feet wide. It displaces 8,378 tons and normally carries up to 146 passengers.

Spain's Navantia shipyards built the Naiguata in 2009 as a coastal patrol ship. The Naiguata was 259 feet long, had a top speed of 22 knots, and displaced 1,453 tons. This ship was also armed with a 76-millimeter Oto-Melara rapid fire deck gun, a 35-millimeter Oerlikon Millennium close-in weapon system, and two .50-caliber machine guns. As a surface ship, Naiguata typically embarks with a crew of 34.

It’s not clear what happened here, but one thing is clear: Venezuela’s story doesn’t add up. For one, Resolute was 13 nautical miles off the coast of Isla de Tortuga, and territorial waters extend up to 12 miles.

Plus, an unarmed cruise ship that takes no aggressive action can't be an aggressor and commit “piracy” against an armed navy patrol boat. Finally, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre is a non-partisan agency that would have records of it giving Resolute permission to leave the scene.

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News , and others. He lives in San Francisco.

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Venezuelan navy boat tried to ram a cruise ship but sunk itself instead

A Venezuelan naval boat attempted to ram a German-owned passenger cruise liner multiple times before the Venezuelan vessel sprung a leak and sunk.

The incident occurred on Monday in international waters off Venezuela’s northern coast, Columbia Cruise Services said in a statement . The cruise ship, the RCGS Resolute, was reportedly undergoing maintenance approximately 13 miles out at sea when the Venezuelan naval vessel approached the cruise ship.

As the Venezuelan vessel first approached the cruise ship, the company said they were ordered to follow the vessel to Puerto Moreno on the Venezuelan island of Isla De Margarita. The master of the cruise ship reportedly questioned the lawfulness of the order, as the ship was international waters and the order would have deviated the ship from its scheduled route.

“While the Master was in contact with the head office, gun shots were fired and, shortly thereafter, the navy vessel approached the starboard side at speed with an angle of 135° and purposely collided with the RCGS RESOLUTE,” the company statement read. “The navy vessel continued to ram the starboard bow in an apparent attempt to turn the ship’s head towards Venezuelan territorial waters.”

The cruise ship reported minimal damage, and photos posted to Twitter later on showed scratches on the prow of the ship.

RCGS Resolute with very minimal damage after the collision. Venezuelan navy say the Naiguata was seriously damaged then sunk. pic.twitter.com/DCLCYp9SkT — CNW (@ConflictsW) March 31, 2020

The RCGS Resolute is an ice-class expedition cruise vessel and has reportedly been fitted protective measures for sailing through ice, including high density steel plating and small frame spacing on her hull, according to the vessel’s One Ocean Expedition profile .

“While the RCGS RESOLUTE sustained minor damages, not affecting vessel’s seaworthiness, it occurs that the navy vessel suffered severe damages while making contact with the ice-strengthened bulbous bow of the ice-class expedition cruise vessel RCGS RESOLUTE and started to take water,” the statement on the incident continued.

The cruise ship reportedly stayed by the damaged Venezuelan vessel for over an hour near the scene of the initial attack. The company stated it reached out to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) on the island of Curaçao. Several efforts to contact the naval vessel were made, but reportedly received no reply.

Venezuelan Navy Patrol Ship Sinks After Collision With Cruise Ship An encounter between the Venezuelan patrol vessel GC-23 Naiguata and the ice-class expedition cruise ship RCGS Resolute resulted in the patrol vessel’s sinking, according to the government of Venezuela pic.twitter.com/RXyjUIIMqC — DieselShip (@theDieselShip) April 2, 2020

The Venezuelan government disputed the cruise ship’s version of events. In it’s statement, the Venezuelan Coast Guard ship, indentified as the Naiguat á, responded to intercept the RCGS Resolute amid claims it was sailing through Venezuelan territorial waters. The Venezuelan statement further claims that the cruise ship “boarded (collided)” by the cruise ship and then that the cruise ship did not attend to the rescue of the Venezuelan naval vessel, in an act the Venezuelan government described as “cowardly and criminal.”

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Because of Corona Embargo? Navy boat rams German cruise liner off Venezuela - and sinks

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Venezuelan warship sinks after firing upon and ramming cruiseliner

April 7, 2020

Venezuela has suffered a tough loss of one of its few remaining warships.  Media reports say a Venezuelan warship sank after it fired upon and repeatedly rammed a German cruiseliner. Only problem was, the German ship had a strengthened hull for breaking through antarctic ice.

Failed socialist Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the captain of the RCGS RESOLUTE cruise ship of “terrorism and piracy” and sought to force the ship into a new direction on the high seas on March 30. The cruise ship, which had no passengers on board and was sailing under a Portuguese flag, didn’t budge and its reinforced hull withstood the attack with only minor scraping and dents.

Columbia Cruise Services , the Hamburg-based company that owns the RCGS RESOLUTE , issued a statement on Wednesday: “In the early morning hours of the 30th of March 2020 (local time), the cruise vessel RCGS RESOLUTE has been subject to an act of aggression by the Venezuelan Navy in international waters, around 13.3 nautical miles from Isla de Tortuga with 32 crew member and no passengers on board.”

The warship GC-23 now lies at the bottom of the ocean. The sinking was another humiliation for the socialist regime of Venezuela.

The company added that “When the event occurred, the cruise vessel RCGS RESOLUTE has already been drifting for one day off the coast of the island to conduct some routine engine maintenance on its idle voyage to its destination, Willemstad/ Curaçao. As maintenance was being performed on the starboard main engine, the port main engine was kept on standby to maintain a safe distance from the island at any time.”

Columbia Cruise Services continued, stating that “Shortly after mid-night, the cruise vessel was approached by an armed Venezuelan navy vessel, which via radio questioning the intentions of the RCGS RESOLUTE ’s presence and gave the order to follow to Puerto Moreno on Isla De Margarita. As the RCGS RESOLUTE was sailing in international waters at that time, the Master wanted to reconfirm this particular request resulting into a serious deviation from the scheduled vessel’s route with the company DPA.”

Venezuelan Navy attempts midnight boarding of five-star Antartic cruise ship RCGS Resolute. Resolute rams BVL Naiguatá capsizing and sinking warship. All crew accounted for. Resolute safely in Curacao port with minor damage to strengthened hull. https://t.co/2ObpkjxKOv — Venezuela BTH (@VenezuelaBTH) April 1, 2020

According to the statement, “While the Master was in contact with the head office, gun shots were fired and, shortly thereafter, the navy vessel approached the starboard side at speed with an angle of 135° and purposely collided with the RCGS RESOLUTE . The navy vessel continued to ram the starboard bow in an apparent attempt to turn the ship’s head towards Venezuelan territorial waters.”

–Wire Services

Tagged with: attack cruise cruiseliner german germany maduro sank ship socialism venezuela

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Cruiseship collision sinks Venezuelan warship

Venezuelan patrol vessel capsizes and sinks after collision with ice-classed cruiseship in the Caribbean

Venezuela’s Ministry of Defense is accusing a Bunnys Adventure & Cruise Shipping expedition cruiseship of carrying out a hit-and-run collision that led to the sinking one of its warships.

The collision took place off the Caribbean island of Tortuga on Monday when the 8,400-gt ice-class cruiseship RCGS Resolute (built 1991) collided with the Naiguata (built 2009), a patrol vessel operated by the Venezuelan Navy’s coast guard division.

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Venezuelan navy ship sinks after ramming reinforced cruise liner

A Venezuelan navy patrol vessel has sunk in the Caribbean after ramming a cruise liner, apparently unaware that it had a reinforced hull.

Columbia Cruise Services, the owner of the cruise liner, said that the Venezuelan crew had fired shots and appeared to be trying to seize the civilian vessel, which was also an icebreaker. It described the move as an “act of aggression in international waters”.

The 403ft RCGS Resolute is a luxury liner which sails under a Portuguese flag and is designed for voyages in Antarctica.

It had been drifting 13 miles off La Tortuga, an uninhabited Venezuelan island 60 miles off the northern coast, according to its owner.

Columbia, a German company, said that one of the vessel’s engines had been shut

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Venezuelan Navy releases video of moment German cruise liner collides with one of its warships which then sinks

• New video shows the moment a Venezuelan naval vessel and German cruise ship collided last Monday
• A seaman aboard the Venezuelan patrol boat Naiguata is seen in the footage firing an AK-47 at the RGCS Resolute
• The Naiguata, in the heavily edited footage released by the Venezuelan government, is then seen facing the liner head on
• Moments later,  the Resolute, which has a hull that's reinforced to enable the ship to smash through ice, strikes the warship, which begins to take on water 
• The Resolute's operator, Columbia Cruise Services, insists the Venezuelans were the aggressor in an ill-fated attempt to illegally seize the vessel

By Ralph R. Ortega For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:11 EDT, 5 April 2020 | Updated: 17:37 EDT, 5 April 2020

View comments

New video footage shows when a Venezuelan naval vessel and German cruise ship collide, which causes the warship to sink because the liner had a hull that was reinforced for crashing through ice. 

A seaman aboard the patrol boat Naiguata is seen at the beginning of the footage firing an AK-47 at the RGCS Resolute from Germany last Monday

The heavily edited footage released by the Venezuelan Navy shows the warship at one point facing the cruise ship head on. 

New video footage shows when a Venezuelan naval vessel and German cruise ship collide, which causes the warship to sink because the liner had a hull that was reinforced for crashing through ice. A Venezuelan seaman is pictured at the start of the footage

The seaman in the footage is on board the Venezuelan patrol boat Naiguata holding an AK-47 as the the RGCS Resolute from Germany is seen in the background

The seaman is then seen firing upon the Resolute

The heavily edited footage released by the Venezuelan Navy shows the warship at one point facing the cruise ship head on

The footage moments later then shows the Resolute hit the Naiguata from the side.

The impact causes severe damage to the warship as it begins to take on water. Chaos ensues and people are heard scrambling to get to safety.

The liner’s owner, Colombia Cruise Services, has alleged the Venezuelans were the aggressor in the accident, accusing them of making an ill-fated attempt to illegally seize the liner in international waters. 

The same footage moments later shows the Resolute impacting the Naiguata from the side

The impact seen in the footage causes severe damage to the warship 

The Resolute appearing undamaged is seen pulling away from the Naiguata 

All 44 crew members aboard the patrol vessel were rescued after the ship sunk, the cruise line says. 

Venezuela's defense ministry has argued the cruise ship was to blame, despite widespread reports to the contrary. 

Venezuela's autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro has already raged about 'piracy and terrorism' after the disputed collision on Monday, Spanish-speaking media says. 

'It is as if a 100-kilo boxer grabbed a boy apprentice boxer and beat him,' Maduro said, claiming that the cruise ship had been the aggressor.

The Venezuelan military patrol boat Naiguata (pictured) allegedly sank after a disastrous attempt to ram a cruise ship in international waters 

The crew of the RCGS Resolute (file photo) say they were shot at and rammed by the Venezuelan patrol boat in the Caribbean Sea 

The Resolute sails under the Portuguese flag but is managed by the German-based company Columbia Cruise Services. 

The ship's strengthened hull, for ice expeditions, suffered only minor damage in the collision.

Some reports have linked the collision to a recent diplomatic row between Venezuela and Portugal.

A statement from Columbia said the cruise ship was 'subject to an act of aggression by the Venezuelan navy in international waters'.

The cruise ship, which was carrying 32 crew and no passengers, was idling during maintenance on its way to the Dutch-owned island of Curacao, Columbia says. 

Shortly after midnight, the ship was approached by the Naiguata which allegedly ordered it to sail to a Venezuelan island, Isla de Margarita.

Then, 'gun shots were fired and, shortly thereafter, the navy vessel approached the starboard side at speed and purposely collided with the RCGS Resolute', Columbia says.

'The navy vessel continued to ram the starboard bow in an apparent attempt to turn the ship's head towards Venezuelan territorial waters,' it is alleged.

The RCGS Resolute, which is equipped with a strengthened hull for ice expeditions, suffered only minor damage in the collision (pictured) 

'While the Resolute sustained minor damages, not affecting vessel's seaworthiness, it occurs that the navy vessel suffered severe damages while making contact with the ice-strengthened bulbous bow of the ice-class expedition cruise vessel Resolute and started to take water,' Columbia says.

'Ready to support anytime, the Resolute remained for over one hour in vicinity of the scene and reached out to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre [in] Curacao.

'This is an international body which oversees any maritime emergencies. All attempts to contact those on board the navy ship have been left unanswered.

'Only after receiving the order to resume passage full ahead by the MRCC and that further assistance is not required, the Resolute, currently safely moored in the port of Willemstad, continued sailing towards her destination at Curacao.

'A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident will now be carried out.' 

Venezuela's defense ministry disputes this account, alleging that the cruise ship had caused the collision.

Officials in Caracas say the crew of the patrol boat were rescued, acknowledging that the Naiguata suffered 'damage of great magnitude' without saying that it sank.

Share or comment on this article: Moment Venezuelan warship RAMS into German liner in Caribbean but sinks

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"We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose." - President Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address

Friday, April 03, 2020

Venezuela's spin on the ramming of the german cruise ship.

Venezuelan President Maduro accused the captain of the Resolute of “terrorism and piracy”. In addition, the Venezuelan Strategic Command Operations accused the ship of having fast-moving command boats that could execute “fast raids”. According to Venezuelan state-run news outlet VTV, “The cruise ship RCGS Resolute, which attacked a Bolivarian Navy ship last Monday Source while patrolling northeast of La Tortuga Island, is equipped as evidenced by photographs published by the Strategic Operational Commander with inflatable boats capable of transporting up to seven commands to execute incursions in coastal areas.” VTV cited Maduro as saying that the Resolute’s refusal to allow Curaçao authorities to access the ship “confirms the hypothesis that this ship was being used to bring mercenaries to our coasts and carrying out attacks on military units or political objectives”.

Venezuela, the real life example of Atlas Shrugged continues.

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A Venezuelan Navy vessel opened fire on a German cruise ship but sank after it sustained "severe damages" while ramming the luxury liner on Monday morning.

The RCGS Resolute , a 123-meter-long cruise ship equipped for polar expeditions, was performing routine maintenance in international waters off the coast of Venezuela on Monday morning, according to a statement by Columbia Cruise Services, which manages the ship. Soon, a Venezuelan patrol boat approached, demanding that the ship divert its course to a Venezuelan port. The patrol boat then opened fire on the Resolute and repeatedly rammed it.

The Resolute has a reinforced hull built to survive in arctic conditions and sustained only "minor damages" in the encounter. The same could not be said for its aggressor.

"While the RCGS RESOLUTE sustained minor damages, not affecting [the] vessel's seaworthiness, it occurs that the navy vessel suffered severe damages while making contact with the ice-strengthened bulbous bow of the ice-class expedition cruise vessel RCGS RESOLUTE and started to take water," the statement read.

The Resolute repeatedly offered help to its crew, but the Venezuelan sailors did not answer the Resolute 's hails, according to the statement. The cruise ship ultimately left the area after an international maritime authority told the Resolute that its assistance was not necessary. The ship soon safely docked at its intended destination of Curaçao.

The Venezuelan government acknowledged the naval encounter but claimed the Resolute was in Venezuelan territorial waters during the incident. CNN reported  the country's defense ministry suggested that the Resolute carried foreign mercenaries trying to invade Venezuela.

A search and rescue operation rescued all men aboard the patrol boat, according to the Venezuelan government.

Published under: Venezuela