Sorry for lack of aviation content, but thought it needed posting here. Another captain who won’t get another command......
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/v...iner-6t9wggf5d
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 down for maintenance and it had been making its way towards port on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.
In the early hours of Monday the
Resolute had been approached by a Venezuelan navy patrol vessel, the
Naiguatį, which then ordered it to navigate into Venezuelan waters, the company said. The captain refused to follow instructions, explaining that he first needed to contact the head office in Germany. At that point several shots were fired from the Venezuelan vessel, which then rammed the cruise liner’s hull in an effort to force it to change course.
The Finnish-built
Resolute is equipped with the highest Polar class reinforced hull, making it easily capable of breaking thick Antarctic ice and therefore suitable for “year-round operation in all polar waters”. As a result it is nearly impervious to ramming by another vessel. The steel-hulled patrol boat suffered severe damage and soon began to take on water.
Columbia said that the
Resolute had remained in the vicinity of the incident for more than an hour and had offered assistance. Its captain alerted the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Curacao, which eventually advised him to continue his journey. Images taken from the pier in Curacao appear to show only minor damage to the
Resolute.
All 44 members of the naval crew were rescued by the local authorities, but the Spanish-built vessel, which cost $350 million, sank without trace in waters 180 metres deep.
The Venezuelan government has given a different version of events.
Vladimir Padrino, the minister of defence, said that the cruise ship had been at fault and had committed an “act of imperial aggression” and “piracy”.
Nicolįs Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who this week
was indicted by the US government for alleged drug trafficking, has suggested that mercenaries were on board the cruise liner, although he has not provided any evidence.