An armed Navy patrol boat collides with a cruise ship and sinks, the cruise ship is safe
A patrol vessel owned by the Venezuelan Navy collided with a hull-reinforced cruise ship and sank at sea in the Caribbean Sea. It has been pointed out that the circumstances of the incidents claimed by both the Venezuelan Navy and the operating company that owns the cruise ship are different, and that it is caused by 'political factors'.
Statement on RCGS RESOLUTE incident --Columbia Cruise Services
El BVL Naiguatá se hunde tras colisionar contra el buque de pasajeros Resolute --Noticias Infodefensa América
https://www.infodefensa.com/latam/2020/03/31/noticia-naiguata-hunde-colisionar-contra-buque-pasajeros-resolute.html
This Venezuelan Patrol Ship Sunk Itself After Ramming A Cruise Liner With A Reinforced Hull --The Drive
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32853/this-venezuelan-patrol-ship-sunk-itself-after-ramming-a-cruise-liner-with-an-reinforced-hull
According to the Columbia Cruise Service , the operator of the RCGS Resolute cruise ship that caused the accident, the RCGS Resolute was sent to Willemstad on the Dutch island of Curacao in the early morning of March 30, 2020, when the incident occurred. I had been drifting for about a day at a point about 13 miles (about 21 km) away from the coast of Haiti's Tortuga Island to perform regular engine inspections on the way. This maintenance was related to the starboard main engine, which was operating normally and kept a safe distance from Tortuga.
After midnight, the Venezuelan Navy patrol vessel Naiguatá , armed with the RCGS Resolute, approached. The Naiguatá, after questioning the intention of the RCGS Resolute drifting in the area via communications, demanded that it accompany him to Puermoreno on the island of Margarita in Venezuela. Since the RCGS Resolute was moored in the international waters, we communicated with the headquarters to inform the headquarters that it would deviate significantly from the prescribed route in order to follow the instructions of the Venezuelan Navy.
However, the Naiguatá fired while the RCGS Resolute was communicating with the headquarters. Shortly thereafter, he intentionally collided with the starboard bow at an angle of 135 degrees. The Naiguatá, which has a total length of 262 feet (about 80 meters) and has a total ton number of 1720 tons at the maximum load, repeated this collision many times. However, the RCGS Resolute, with a total length of 403 feet (about 123 meters) and a total ton of about 8445 tons, specializes in Antarctic cruises and was a ship with a reinforced hull to cope with drift ice.
The Naiguatá was severely damaged by the collision and sank. The 44 crew members were thrown into the sea. On the other hand, the damage on the RCGS Resolute side was minor as follows.
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
As the Naiguatá sank, the RCGS Resolute contacted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC), an international organization for maritime emergencies. He stayed there for more than an hour in case rescue was needed, but returned to the designated route as the MRCC notified him that no rescue was needed.
Venezuelan authorities have disputed the above allegations of Colombian cruise services. Venezuelan officials claimed that 'RCGS Resolute escaped from the collision site in a timid and criminal manner and did not rescue the patrol vessel crew.' The behavior of cruise ships is described as 'invasion of the empire' and 'piracy.' However, both crew members were not injured.
It is possible that the RCGS Resolute was actually invading Venezuela's territorial waters. However, even if it invades the territorial waters, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ' innocent passage ,' grants the right to legally navigate the territorial waters unless they commit illegal acts. Below is an image showing the location of the RCGS Resolute at the time of the incident. Below is an image showing the location of the RCGS Resolute at the time of the incident. Just beside the pin is the island of Tortuga in Haiti, and all the land to the south is the land of Venezuela.
According to The Drive , a vehicle news site that reported the matter in detail, the 'ship registration' of the RCGS Resolute may have been a problem. The RCGS Resolute is Portuguese-registered, and Portugal supports Juan Guaidó , the biggest political enemy of President Nicolas Maduro, who has a dictatorship in Venezuela.
In February 2020, Venezuela claimed that 'Guaidó and his uncle carried the bomb on TAP Portugal. Guaidó and TAP Portugal are colluding to smuggle explosives.' Portugal's Foreign Minister Santos Silva dismissed the complaint as 'meaningless,' but Venezuela suspended TAP Portugal for 90 days. Similar to this disposition, The Drive claims that the Venezuelan government, which sought radical diplomatic means against Portugal, forcibly used the Portuguese-registered RCGS Resolute.
The two sides disagree, and the details of the case are unknown. However, it is a fact that the Naiguata, which has a 76 mm caliber naval gun on the upper part of the bow and other small arms such as a 20 mm machine gun and two 50 caliber machine guns, sank. You can see the Naiguatá issue of the past day from the following movie.
NAVANTIA: BVL Naiguatá (Armada de Venezuela)-YouTube
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