Guaicamacuto-class patrol boat explained
The
Guaicamacuto-class patrol boats (Avante 1400) is a class of offshore patrol vessels or BVL (Spanish; Castilian:
Buque de Vigilancia de Litoral) in
Venezuelan Navy service for patrol duty in economic exclusive zone. A contract for four BVLs and four
POVZEE was signed together on 25 November 2005. Since 2014 the Spanish Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office has been investigating the €42m "commission" paid to some of those involved.
[1] The final vessel of the class was to have been named after Tamanaco, a 16th-century tribal leader, but in 2013 GC-24 was renamed Comandante eterno Hugo Chávez after the death of the then president. GC-24 was laid down in 2008 under the supervision of Navantia at the Venezuelan National Dams and Shipyards (DIANCA) in Puerto Cabello, was launched in 2014 and began sea trials in April 2018, but Navantia pulled out of Venezuela in January 2019 before trials were complete.[2]
Ships of class
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|
| Guaicamacuto | GC-21 | Navantia, Spain | 16 October 2008 | 2 March 2010[3] | |
| Yaviré | GC-22 | 11 March 2009[4] | 29 January 2011 | |
| GC-23 | 24 June 2009[5] | 1 March 2011 | Sunk after ramming an unarmed civilian vessel |
| Comandante eterno Hugo Chávez | GC-24 | DIANCA, Puerto Cabello | 2014 | | | |
sunk after ramming the cruise ship on 30 March 2020 in an apparent attempt to seize it.[6] [7]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- News: El macrocontrato de Navantia en Venezuela tropieza por los avales . El Pais . Miguel . Ángel Noceda . 28 July 2014 . Spanish.
- News: España retira su apoyo al buque de guerra ‘Comandante Eterno Hugo Chávez’ . El Pais . Miguel . Gonzalez . 29 January 2019 . Spanish.
- Web site: Navantia Launches and Commissions Two OPVs to Venezuelan Navy. 5 March 2010. 25 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110825094403/http://www.naval-technology.com/contractors/warship/navantia/press8.html. dead.
- Web site: Navantia launches second OPV for Venezuela.
- Web site: Navantia launches first Venezuelan OPV.
- Web site: Venezuelan Navy boat rams German cruise ship and sinks . . 20 April 2020 . 3 April 2020.
- Relatório de Investigação Técnica / Investigation report . pt . Gabinete de Investigação de Acidentes Marítimos e da Autoridade para a Meteorologia Aeronáutica (GAMA) . 6 April 2020 . 10 April 2020 .
