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Wikipedia
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The warship Naiguata tried to force a German cruise ship to turn around.
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Twitter
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The warship rammed the cruise ship. However, this suffered only minimal damage. The picture was taken after the attack.
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Twitter
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But the warship sank. The data show that the Resolute drove around the same place for some time before heading to Curacao.
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AFP
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4/4
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was not pleased with the incident. He described it as “piracy” and “act of terror”.
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The Venezuelan warship Naiguata received the order to escort the German cruise ship Resolute to the port of the Venezuelan island of Margarita. The Venezuelans believed that the tourist boat was too close to the “Venezuelan exclusive economic zone”, a sea area in which the state enjoyed certain privileges.
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But the Resolute, built in Hamburg and now sailing under the Portuguese flag, lived up to its name. She refused to do so. The captain replied that they were still in international waters and wanted to clarify the situation first. In addition, you have engine problems that you have to look at.
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Warning shots, then a ram attempt
The South Americans didn’t want to wait. They shot warning shots at the cruise ship, and when that didn’t help, they rammed the Resolute. Warship against cruise ship. Easy game for the Venezuelans – they thought. What they didn’t know: The Resolute is a special boat. The hull is built to defy icebergs and meets the highest demands Ice class
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For years the ship – at that time under the name Hanseatic – curved through the Arctic, even holds a record: in 2014 it was approaching 480 kilometers to the North Pole, a cruise ship has never been this far north.
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Against the resolute’s reinforced bow, the naiguata looked old. While the cruise ship suffered only a few scratches from the ramming attack, the warship was so badly damaged that it sank!
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The Resolute called for help and stayed near the sinking ship. The Venezuelans were saved after about an hour. Media reports that they previously turned down a rescue offer from the Resolute crew.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was pissed off. He said the sinking of his naiguata was an act of terrorism and needs to be investigated. No matter what the investigation reveals, he will have to live with the mockery of losing his warship to a tourist ship. (vof)
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