# 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:** 2
**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, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/21 "2020-04-03T16:12:14Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > It didnt ask me anything except whether it could use cookies. šŸ˜• I got that, as well, but then couldnā€™t read past the first few paragraphs without creating an account. ---
**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, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/22 "2020-04-03T16:12:46Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > 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 shipā€™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 ship](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/02/venezuelan-naval-vessel-goes-confrontation-portuguese-cruise/) Any chance The Navy commander was trained at the [Moreno School of Naval Warfare?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=893164) ---
**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, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/23 "2020-04-03T16:20:47Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Well, that was classy. It would have made the story _so_ much more fun if the cruse ship crew would have had to fish everyone out of the water. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/24 "2020-04-03T16:45:59Z")
I donā€™t know if Hilarious is what the OP was going for with the thread title, but it was certainly achieved. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/25 "2020-04-03T17:05:18Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > 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 shipā€™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 ship](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/02/venezuelan-naval-vessel-goes-confrontation-portuguese-cruise/) Iā€™ve had a few embarrassing bicycle wrecks in front of others, but this takes the cake. AWKWARD! ---
**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, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/26 "2020-04-03T17:57:13Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > ā€¦ the cruise ship, the RCGS RESOLUTE, is designed to cut through Antarctic ice, and has a reinforced hull. More specifically (according to this [statement from the company that owns it](https://www.columbia-cs.com/statement-on-rcgs-resolute-incident/)), it has an ā€œice-strengthened bulbous bowā€ - probably much of the hull is more or less normal. But that strong bulbous underwater projection makes this ship a notably poor choice for a ramming attack. Presumably, it was damage caused by this that sunk the Venezuelan ship. In contrast to Venezuelan claims that the RESOLUTE abandoned the shipwrecked sailors, the company claims: > [@](#): > > ā€¦ the RCGS RESOLUTE remained for over one hour in vicinity of the scene and reached out to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) CuraƧao. > ā€¦ > Only after receiving the order to resume passage full ahead by the MRCC and that further assistance is not required, the RCGS RESOLUTE, currently safely moored in the port of Willemstad, continued sailing towards her destination at CuraƧao. This claim should be verifiable in the records of the MRCC. ---
**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, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/27 "2020-04-03T18:15:04Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > In contrast to Venezuelan claims that the RESOLUTE abandoned the shipwrecked sailors, the company claims: Sounds like the Venzuelan Navy is trying to cover itā€™s ass. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/28 "2020-04-03T18:31:47Z")
As Sancho says in Man of La Mancha ā€œif the pitcher hits the rock or the rock hits the pitcher, the pitcher loses.ā€ (From memory from over 50 years ago, I might be wrong.) Venezuela is in such bad shape they can hardly afford a navy - this might save them money. Assuming they arenā€™t still making payments on the ship. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/29 "2020-04-03T19:11:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > As Sancho says in Man of La Mancha ā€œif the pitcher hits the rock or the rock hits the pitcher, the pitcher loses.ā€ (From memory from over 50 years ago, I might be wrong.) > > Venezuela is in such bad shape they can hardly afford a navy - this might save them money. > Assuming they arenā€™t still making payments on the ship. Near as I can tell, the boat was a lightly-outfitted version of the Spanish Avante 2200 corvette surface combatant, called the POZVEE class. Only the Venezuelans operated this particular version. Basically a big Coast Guard cutter with a 76mm gun, and a pretty high tech 35mm CIWS. A more lavishly equipped set of five boats was to be built for the Saudis for 1.8 billion Euros in 2018. [KSA Signed the Contract for 5 Avante 2200 Corvettes with Navantia](http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2018/july-2018-navy-naval-defense-news/6352-ksa-signed-the-contract-for-5-avante-2200-corvettes-with-navantia.html) I doubt they have the money for salvage. Itā€™s very worrisome if the Venezuelan Navy is having units reduced to piracy, though LOL upon LOL at how this turned out. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/30 "2020-04-04T11:10:02Z")
Iā€™ve heard Germans have a reputation for lacking humor, but even they have to be laughing their heads (and other body parts) off at this one. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/31 "2020-04-04T12:51:39Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Near as I can tell, the boat was a lightly-outfitted version of the Spanish Avante 2200 corvette surface combatant, called the POZVEE class. Only the Venezuelans operated this particular version. Basically a big Coast Guard cutter with a 76mm gun, and a pretty high tech 35mm CIWS. > > A more lavishly equipped set of five boats was to be built for the Saudis for 1.8 billion Euros in 2018. [KSA Signed the Contract for 5 Avante 2200 Corvettes with Navantia](http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2018/july-2018-navy-naval-defense-news/6352-ksa-signed-the-contract-for-5-avante-2200-corvettes-with-navantia.html) > > I doubt they have the money for salvage. Itā€™s very worrisome if the Venezuelan Navy is having units reduced to piracy, though LOL upon LOL at how this turned out. This is the ship that scored the own-goal, [GC-23 Naiguata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_patrol_boat_Naiguat%C3%A1). One of three in that class. There was supposed to be a fourth one to join that ship class but it was cancelled, named Comandante Eterno Hugo Chavez,\* ā€œEternal Commander Hugo Chavezā€\*, which goes to answer the question of what sort of navy would ram a cruise ship like?, the kind that wants to put a name like that on one of their ships, that sort. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/32 "2020-04-04T13:09:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It would have made the story _so_ much more fun if the cruse ship crew would have had to fish everyone out of the water. The crew offered to help, but they were refused. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/33 "2020-04-04T13:49:51Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I donā€™t know if Hilarious is what the OP was going for with the thread title, but it was certainly achieved. Or more famously Sighted ship sank self ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/34 "2020-04-04T22:36:58Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > 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). Now i gotta check if Harpoon2k is on steam or GoG, now that one of the oscar myer wieners is out of commish ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/35 "2020-04-05T03:04:09Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > This is the ship that scored the own-goal, [GC-23 Naiguata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_patrol_boat_Naiguat%C3%A1). One of three in that class. > > There was supposed to be a fourth one to join that ship class but it was cancelled, named Comandante Eterno Hugo Chavez,\* ā€œEternal Commander Hugo Chavezā€\*, which goes to answer the question of what sort of navy would ram a cruise ship like?, the kind that wants to put a name like that on one of their ships, that sort. As I understand it it hasnā€™t actually been canceled, itā€™s been more or less finished for years but for officially unspecified reasons never is actually ready for deployment. For \*un-\*official reasons, itā€™s probably because unlike the others it was built locally instead of by Spain and from what Iā€™ve heard elsewhere is a piece of garbage: > [@](#): > > For what I understand the ship isnā€™t anywhere close to seaworthy, the first three ships were built in Spain while The Joke was build here and the big reason that there was the fight with the company was because the Government stole everything and then blamed the company. > > And for what the people in the steel industry have told me\* the odds are that the hull is complete garbage. > > \*They got a lot rebar from Sidor, the government owned foundry and only working foundry since the 80ā€™s, and one of them broke under its own weight and one of them bended like a noodle, and they were supposed to be of the same lot. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/36 "2020-04-06T16:22:10Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Only the Venezuelans operated this particular version. Basically a big Coast Guard cutter with a 76mm gun, and a pretty high tech 35mm CIWS. So they had a 76 mm gun, the cruise ship had a propeller or two, and Captain Venezuela decides ramming is the way to bring it under control? And since nobody else is doing it: [Nelson Muntz]HA ha![/NM] ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/37 "2020-04-06T16:50:40Z")
Looking at the _Resolute_ā€™s Wikipedia page, itā€™s a durable mo-fo. Itā€™s been grounded three times and caught fire while in dry dock. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/38 "2020-04-06T19:09:44Z")
If I misunderstand correctly, the cruise ship has a reinforced bow, but the sides and bottom are only reinforced a bit to handle ice, so being rammed from the side would be a real problem? So just where did the Venezuelan ship ram the cruise ship? Even with an ordinary ship, ramming the bow is not a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/39 "2020-04-06T20:32:46Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > So just where did the Venezuelan ship ram the cruise ship? Even with an ordinary ship, ramming the bow is not a good idea. Ram of the bow, from a starboard 135-degree approaching vector. The cruise ship has some _severe_ damageā€¦to its paint job. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933/40 "2020-04-06T20:45:25Z")
Is there any speculation as to what their intent was if they had gotten the ship to Venezuelan port? Maybe make up a bunch of violations and require ā€œfinesā€ to be paid to return the ship? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuelan-navy-ship-shoots-at-and-rams-a-cruise-ship-sinks-itself/850933.md?page=3)