A Venezuelan warship sank after it reportedly purposely collided with cruise ship in the Caribbean Sea in order to stop its way forward.
Both sides have blamed each other for the collision with cruise ship, RCGS Resolute, crew claiming that the navy boat Naiguata fired gunshots and intentionally collided with their ship.
The Venezuela’s defence ministry, however, denied both claims of intentionally hitting and sinking of its war ship.
The Resolute sails under the Portuguese flag but is managed by the German-based company Columbia Cruise Services.
A statement from Columbia said that the cruise ship, carrying 32 crew members, was ‘subject to an act of aggression by the Venezuelan navy in international waters.
“Shortly after midnight, the ship was approached by the patrol boat Naiguata which allegedly ordered it to sail for a Venezuelan island,” it said adding after resorting to gun shots, the navy vessel rammed into the RCGS Resolute.
‘While the Resolute sustained minor damages, it occurs that the navy vessel suffered severe damages while making contact with the ice-strengthened bulbous bow of the ice-class expedition cruise vessel Resolute and started to take water,’ Columbia said.
The company claimed that all their efforts to contact those onboard the vessel remained futile despite remaining within the vicinity for an hour.
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‘A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident will now be carried out.’
Venezuela’s defence ministry however, disputed this account, alleging that the cruise ship had caused the collision.
They said that the crew of the navy vessel was rescued as the warship suffered damage of great magnitude, without elaborating if it sank.
Venezuela promised it would ‘undertake the corresponding legal actions’ after the collision.
Some reports have linked the clash to a recent dispute between Venezuela and Portugal which led to Portuguese airline TAP being banned from the country.
