# Venezuelan Navy ship shoots at and rams a cruise ship, sinks itself **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933 "2020-04-03T04:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/1 "2020-04-03T04:19:06Z")
A Venezuelan Navy ship tried to order a German cruise ship flying a Portuguese flag to follow it into a Venezuelan port. When the cruise ship’s captain refused, claiming he was in international waters, the Venezuelan ship fired it and rammed it. But the cruise ship, the RCGS RESOLUTE, is designed to cut through Antarctic ice, and has a reinforced hull. The Venezuelan ship sank. There were no passengers on board the cruise ship. > **[Venezuelan naval vessel goes down after confrontation with Portuguese cruise...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/02/venezuelan-naval-vessel-goes-confrontation-portuguese-cruise/)** > > A cruise company has said that one of its liners was shot at and rammed by a Venezuelan navy vessel, which ended up sinking after the clash in the Caribbean. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/2 "2020-04-03T04:34:22Z")
Idiots. Everyone knows that’s what cruise missiles are for. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/3 "2020-04-03T04:40:23Z")
The OP’s link is paywalled, so [here](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32853/this-venezuelan-patrol-ship-sunk-itself-after-ramming-a-cruise-liner-with-an-reinforced-hull) is a lengthy one that isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/4 "2020-04-03T05:15:11Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The OP’s link is paywalled, so [here](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32853/this-venezuelan-patrol-ship-sunk-itself-after-ramming-a-cruise-liner-with-an-reinforced-hull) is a lengthy one that isn’t. No it isnt. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/5 "2020-04-03T05:50:07Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > No it isnt. It won’t let me read the entire article unless I sign up for a one-month free trial, and create an account on their site. _ **Technically** _ not a paywall, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/6 "2020-04-03T11:08:36Z")
Try the article in [Popular Mechanics](https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a32021287/venezuela-cruiser-cruise-ship-collide/) Or the one on [FleetMon](https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2020/29297/cruise-ship-sunk-venezuelan-navy-ship-and-fled-pro/) This took place just off Tortuga… was Captain Jack Sparrow involved? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/7 "2020-04-03T12:06:37Z")
Sounds like either state-sanctioned piracy or an outright act of war to me. In either instance, Venezuela’s got some serious explaining to do. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/8 "2020-04-03T12:18:58Z")
Right now it seems like Venezuela and its Navy are being run by crazy, incompetent people, so I’m seeing this as a great Feel Good story. No one died, and the asshole who was trying to bully a big unaggressive guy punches himself in the face. And loses a 259’ warship. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/9 "2020-04-03T13:18:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > In either instance, Venezuela’s got some serious explaining to do. Yea it does. That evil capitalist cruise ship was really a disguised CIA spy ship that was intruding upon Venezuela’s territory to steal their intelligence signals and toilet paper. The Venezuela’s ship’s captain bravely sacrificed his ship to send them packing! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/10 "2020-04-03T13:44:04Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > This took place just off Tortuga… was Captain Jack Sparrow involved? 😃 “You are without doubt the worst captain I’ve ever heard of.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/11 "2020-04-03T13:49:40Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > And loses a 259’ warship. That’s an expensive asset. How deep is the water where this happened? Would they be likely to attempt a salvage operation? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/12 "2020-04-03T13:51:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “You are without doubt the worst captain I’ve ever heard of.” 😃 But you have heard of me! ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/13 "2020-04-03T13:55:59Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The OP’s link is paywalled, so [here](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32853/this-venezuelan-patrol-ship-sunk-itself-after-ramming-a-cruise-liner-with-an-reinforced-hull) is a lengthy one that isn’t. That’s a good link, with political background info and the Youtube promo video for the warship. The site also has a story about [Entire Crew Of A Russian Nuclear Submarine Is In Quarantine After COVID-19 Exposure](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32802/entire-crew-of-a-russian-nuclear-submarine-is-in-quarantine-after-covid-19-exposure). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/14 "2020-04-03T14:30:38Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > But you have heard of me! I knew I’d be beat to this response. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/15 "2020-04-03T14:51:35Z")
Gonna need a bigger boat. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/16 "2020-04-03T15:02:20Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > That’s an expensive asset. How deep is the water where this happened? Would they be likely to attempt a salvage operation? There is a relatively shallow bank, only 100 meters deep or a bit shallower, to the WNW of Isla Tortuga. That is the shallowest area in the vicinity and would prove a difficult challenge if the ship sank there. But there is a hole to the WSW of the island that drops to more than 1400 meters… WAY too deep for salvage. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/17 "2020-04-03T15:33:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Would they be likely to attempt a salvage operation? They might try to salvage some items, but probably not the ship itself. Even in a few hundred feet of water, such an operation is likely to cost substantially more than the value of what it can retrieve. I note that with the right kind of sonar the sunken ship ought to be fairly easy to locate, which would help establish whether the incident happened in international waters. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/18 "2020-04-03T15:50:34Z")
This is a _Monty Pyton_ skit become reality. Next up, [an expedition to the twin peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro](https://youtu.be/IdTy1j7z-K4). “I thought there was only one peak, sir?” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/19 "2020-04-03T15:54:31Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It won’t let me read the entire article unless I sign up for a one-month free trial, and create an account on their site. _ **Technically** _ not a paywall, I suppose. It didnt ask me anything except whether it could use cookies. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/20 "2020-04-03T16:06:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Columbia Cruise Services says Resolute remained in the area until it was clear its services were not required to help in the rescue of the 44 crew members. It then continued on, as planned, to the Port of Willemstad in Curaçao. Well, that was classy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933.md?page=2)