Venezuelan patrol boat Naiguatá

Naiguatá (GC-23) was a 79.9-metre (262 ft) Guaicamacuto-class patrol boat of the Venezuelan Coast Guard. The vessel was constructed by Navantia in Cádiz, Spain beginning in 2008. On 30 March 2020, the vessel collided with the cruise ship RCGS Resolute in international waters and sank.

Naiguatá during sea trials
History
Venezuela
Name	Naiguatá
Namesake	City of Naiguatá
Builder	Navantia, Cádiz, Spain
Laid down	October 2008
Launched	24 June 2009
Sponsored by	Alma Pura de Padrón
Identification	GC-23
Fate	Sunk, 30 March 2020
General characteristics
Class and type	Guaicamacuto-class patrol boat
Displacement	1,453 long tons (1,476 t) (standard) 1,720 long tons (1,750 t) (full load)
Length	79.9 m (262 ft 2 in)
Beam	11.8 m (38 ft 9 in) (max.)[1]
Draught	7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Installed power	4 × MTU 12V-1163-TB93 4,440 kW (5,950 shp)[dubious – discuss][citation needed]
Propulsion	CODAD 2 × shaft with Wärtsilä 5C09 controllable pitch propeller[2]
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Range	4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	34 + 30
Sensors and processing systems	Surface search radar: Thales VARIANT, I - G band Fire control radar: Thales STING EO, I - K band with TV/IR/Laser Electro-optics: Thales MIRADOR
Armament	1 × 76 mm (3.0 in)/62 caliber Oto Melara gun (A position) 1 × 35 mm (1.4 in) Oerlikon Millennium gun (Y position) 2 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) guns (B position)
Aircraft carried	1 × AB212, AB412, or AS565 helicopters
Aviation facilities	Landing pad[1]

Construction and career

Naiguatá was the third ship of the Guaicamacuto-class BVLs. BVL stands for "Buque de Vigilancia de Litoral", which is Spanish for littoral surveillance ship. It had a displacement of 1,720 tons.^[3] It was built by Navantia in Spain at the San Fernando shipyards in Cádiz,^[4] based on a standard Navantia Avante 1400 design.^[5][6] The keel was laid in October 2008.^[7] The ship was launched on 24 June 2009, christened by Alma Pura de Padrón^[8] and named after the city of Naiguatá. The Venezuelan Navy took delivery of Naiguatá from the builder and subsequently transferred it to the Venezuelan Coast Guard. Its weapons systems consisted of one Leonardo OTO Melara 76 mm gun, one CIWS anti-aircraft/anti-missile Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millennium Gun, and two 12.7 mm machine guns.^[9]

Sinking

Naiguatá sank following a collision with the ice class cruise ship RCGS Resolute while in international waters on 30 March 2020.^[10][11] According to RCGS Resolute's owner, the Coast Guard ship had fired shots^[11] and ordered the cruise ship to follow it to Margarita Island, a Venezuelan harbour.^[12] Naiguatá sank following the collision, with RCGS Resolute informing the international Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) of the incident and offering assistance. After staying in the area for an hour, RCGS Resolute was informed through MRCC that assistance was not required as Naiguatá's crew had been rescued by the Venezuelan Navy.^[13]

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro accused the captain of the cruise ship of "piracy" and "terrorism",^[14] adding later that he did not rule out that RCGS Resolute was "carrying mercenaries to attack onshore military bases".^[15][16] The Venezuelan minister of defence said RCGS Resolute's action was an act of "imperial aggression".^[17]

However, according to the Portuguese after-incident investigation, Naiguatá's heading just before the collision with RCGS Resolute may have been caused by a suction effect between the vessels as the faster patrol boat passed the bow of the cruise ship. Thus, while the collision may have not been intentional ramming, the conclusion was nonetheless that the incident that led to the sinking of Naiguatá was a deliberate act initiated by the Venezuelan Navy rather than an accidental occurrence.^[18]

Portuguese investigation details

On 6 April, the Office for the Investigation of Maritime Accidents and the Aeronautical Meteorology Authority (Gabinete de Investigação de Acidentes Marítimos e da Autoridade para a Meteorologia Aeronáutica or GAMA) of Portugal released a technical investigation report on the incident involving the Portuguese-flagged cruise ship.^[18]

According to the report, RCGS Resolute had departed Buenos Aires on 5 March and sailed to the Caribbean Sea along the South American coastline. On 28 March, the vessel had stopped in the open sea to allow the crew to carry out maintenance work in the engine room. After drifting closer to the Venezuelan coast on the following day, RCGS Resolute had resumed sailing west for about 90 minutes until the ship had passed La Tortuga Island and then continued adrift to a westerly direction while the starboard main engine turbocharger was being serviced.^[18]

On the night of 30 March, RCGS Resolute was contacted by the Venezuelan Coast Guard patrol boat Naiguatá at around quarter past midnight. After a brief questioning over VHF Marine band radio, the cruise ship was ordered to follow the Venezuelan vessel to Puerto Moreno on the basis that the Portuguese-flagged vessel was violating Venezuelan territorial waters. After consulting with the company designated person ashore (DPA), RCGS Resolute announced that the vessel would start engines and resume voyage to Curaçao.^[18]

At around 01:05 local time, Naiguatá approached RCGS Resolute from the starboard quarter and, after suddenly changing course to port, collided with the bow of the cruise ship. A few minutes later, RCGS Resolute's master ordered the port side controllable pitch propeller first to zero pitch and then to astern thrust in order to separate the vessels. The company DPA instructed the cruise ship to remain on site and contact the local Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC). At 01:38, about half an hour after the collision, Naiguatá's Automatic Identification System-Search and Rescue Transmitter (AIS-SART) was activated but RCGS Resolute was unable to establish contact with the sinking Venezuelan vessel over the radio and instead contacted JRCC Curaçao. About one hour later, the Venezuelan crew was seen preparing liferafts for launching. At 02:43, JRCC Curaçao relayed a statement from the Venezuelan authority responsible for the region, MRCC La Guaira, that RCGS Resolute's assistance was no longer needed on site and instructed the cruise ship to proceed to Willemstad in order to avoid problems with the Venezuelan Navy.^[18]

Although the Portuguese authorities had not obtained statements from Venezuela, the report discussed the possibility that the unexpected change in Naiguatá's heading just before the collision, as reported by RCGS Resolute, may have been caused by a suction effect between the vessels as the faster patrol boat passed the bow of the cruise ship. Although the collision may have not been intentional ramming, the conclusion was nonetheless that the incident that led to the sinking of Naiguatá was a deliberate act initiated by the Venezuelan Navy rather than an accidental occurrence.^[18]

References

1. "Navantia Avante 1400 patrol ship" (PDF). Navantia. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
2. "Wartsila Propulsion Solutions for OPVs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
3. Lagneau, Laurent (2 April 2020). "Un patrouilleur de la marine vénézuélienne a coulé après avoir percuté un navire de croisière". opex360 (in French). Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020. affichant 1.720 tonnes
4. González, Miguel (29 January 2019). "España retira su apoyo al buque de guerra 'Comandante Eterno Hugo Chávez'". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2020. A diferencia de los siete anteriores, su construcción no se llevó a cabo en los astilleros de San Fernando (Cádiz), sino en los de Puerto Cabello, en el Estado de Carabobo (Venezuela)
5. "Avante 1400" (PDF). April 3, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-04-03.
6. "Venezuelan Coast Guard patrol ship sinks following collision | Jane's 360". 3 April 2020. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020.
7. "Puesta de quilla del Tercer Buque de Vigilancia Litoral" (in Spanish). Misión Naval Venezolana en España. October 2008. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
8. "Navantia sigue entregando unidades navales para la Marina de Venezuela". Andalucía Información (in Spanish). 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020. Alma Pura de Padrón, madrina del acto, se mostró emocionada tras la botadura y cuando las sirenas de los remolcadores y del astillero isleño sonaban por el acontecimiento
9. "El BVL Hugo Chávez fue sometido a su quinta prueba de mar - Noticias Infodefensa América". Archived from the original on 3 April 2020.
10. "The Strange Saga of RCGS Resolute". The Maritime Executive.
11. Gibbs, Stephen (3 April 2020). "Venezuelan navy ship sinks after ramming reinforced cruise liner". The Times. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
12. Kévin STORME (3 April 2020). "Un navire de croisière coule un patrouilleur du Vénézuela". Le Marin (in French). Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020. According to CCS, the patrol ship contacted RCGS Resolute before ordering him to follow him to Margarita Island.
13. "Kriegsschiff rammt Passagierschiff und sinkt". Bild (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2020.
14. Badcock, James (April 2, 2020). "Venezuelan naval vessel goes down after confrontation with Portuguese cruise ship". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
15. "Venezuelan President: Ship that is docked in Curaçao carries mercenaries to attack Venezuela". www.curacaochronicle.com. 9 June 2023.
16. "Venezolaans marineschip naar de kelder na rammen pool-cruiseschip". Nieuwsblad Transport. 2 April 2020.
17. Trevithick, Joseph (April 2020). "This Venezuelan Patrol Ship Sunk Itself After Ramming A Cruise Liner With A Reinforced Hull". The Drive.
18. Relatório de Investigação Técnica / Investigation report (PDF) (Report) (in Portuguese). Gabinete de Investigação de Acidentes Marítimos e da Autoridade para a Meteorologia Aeronáutica (GAMA). 6 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.