Not from The Babylon Bee:
In what sounds like it could be an April Fools joke, a Venezuelan Navy offshore patrol vessel recently sank after ramming a cruise liner in the Caribbean Sea. The cruise ship, which had no passengers on board at the time and has a reinforced hull to sail through ice-filled waters, suffered only minimal damage in what the operating company, Columbia Cruise Services, has called an “act of aggression … in international waters.”
The incident occurred in the early hours of Mar. 30, 2020, but Columbia Cruise Services only released an official statement on Apr. 1. The company, which is headquartered in Germany, said the RCGS Resolute was drifting just over 13 miles off the coast of Isla La Tortuga, a Venezuelan island situated some 60 miles off the country’s northern coast, when ANBV Naiguatá, also known by its hull number GC-23, approached it. The Venezuelan Navy ship ordered the cruise ship to follow it to Puerto Moreno on Isla De Margarita, located to the east, accusing it of violating the country’s territorial waters.
“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,” the statement from Columbia Cruise Services says. “Shortly after mid-night, the cruise vessel was approached by an armed Venezuelan navy vessel, which via radio questioning [sic] the intentions of the RCGS Resolute’s presence.”
The 403-foot-long Resolute, which is flagged in Portugal, reportedly had a gross tonnage of around 8,445 tons at the time. The ship was laid down in September 1990 and completed in June 1991. Intended for Antarctic cruises, it has a reinforced ice-capable hull.
Go here to read the rest. Well, I guess if you have a German owned cruise ship, opposing a Venezuelan warship, the smart money goes with the German owned cruise ship!
I’m almost certain that the UN will condemn the Resolute for obstructing that peaceful Venezuela party boat’s voyage .
Bernie Sanders will present “Hero of the Navy” award.
And so capitalism sinks socialism without even trying. Who built the patrol boat, I wonder?
If the Resolute were an RN sub, they could sail into homeport flying the Jolly Roger. Do they at least get to stamp a Venezuelan flag on their bow? 🙂
Probably, Hugo Chavez bought the naval boat from China. It has proven to work as well as most Chinese made appliances. Talk about planned obsolesence.
The GC-23 Naiguatá, an offshore patrol boat, was built in Cadiz, Spain. It was the third vessel in its class. Comandante eterno Hugo Chávez (Commander Eternal Hugo Chavez) will be he fourth vessel in its class. At first thought it seemed that Naiguata’s crew purposely sunk the boat hoping to be rescued by the Resolute, followed by asylum granted in some lovely Caribbean island nation. The Resolute did offer assistance but was rebuffed. The news story reads like Woody Allen’s early movie Bananas only at sea.