3 ms·

Venezuela has a habit (recently) of putting loyalty ahead of meritocracy in government positions. I would not be at all surprised if the captain had minimal ac

Venezuela has a habit (recently) of putting loyalty ahead of meritocracy in government positions. I would not be at all surprised if the captain had minimal actual nautical experience, but a lot of party loyalty.

whymauri 7y ago
Bingo. This applies to basically all nationalized sectors due to top-down corruption. It's why PDVSA has been collapsing in on itself over the last 15 years in spectacular fashion. All the competent engineers and administrators are dead, in prison, ex-pats, retired, or sorely out-numbered by professional grifters who have mismanaged the organization into the ground. It took a generation to train a world-class engineering workforce and a generation to tear it down.
battery_cowboy 7y ago
Even with the merit, it's hard to train a professional Navy. Being a ship captain (or any other position, even the lowly deck seaman) is a mentally challenging task. There's a lot going on and it's expensive to get as much underway time as the well-financed Navies do. Most Navy ships in small countries sit in port a lot, not sure about Venezuela, but they can't have a ton of cash to waste on underway time.
- fmajid 7y ago
  Even lots of money is no guarantee, just look at the US Navy's embarrassing string of recent nautical incidents like the USS FitzGerald's.
slavik81 7y ago
A tale as old as time. From the H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan (1878): I grew so rich that I was sent by pocketborough into parliament. I always voted at my party's call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all. I thought so little, they rewarded me by making me the ruler of the Queen's Navy! Now landsmen all, whoever you may be, if you want to rise to the top of the tree, if your soul isn't fettered to an office stool, be careful to be guided by this golden rule: Stick close to your desks and never go to sea, and you all may be rulers of the Queen's Navy!

whymauri 7y ago

Bingo. This applies to basically all nationalized sectors due to top-down corruption. It's why PDVSA has been collapsing in on itself over the last 15 years in spectacular fashion. All the competent engineers and administrators are dead, in prison, ex-pats, retired, or sorely out-numbered by professional grifters who have mismanaged the organization into the ground. It took a generation to train a world-class engineering workforce and a generation to tear it down.

battery_cowboy 7y ago

Even with the merit, it's hard to train a professional Navy. Being a ship captain (or any other position, even the lowly deck seaman) is a mentally challenging task. There's a lot going on and it's expensive to get as much underway time as the well-financed Navies do. Most Navy ships in small countries sit in port a lot, not sure about Venezuela, but they can't have a ton of cash to waste on underway time.

fmajid 7y ago
Even lots of money is no guarantee, just look at the US Navy's embarrassing string of recent nautical incidents like the USS FitzGerald's.

slavik81 7y ago

A tale as old as time. From the H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan (1878): I grew so rich that I was sent by pocketborough into parliament. I always voted at my party's call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all. I thought so little, they rewarded me by making me the ruler of the Queen's Navy! Now landsmen all, whoever you may be, if you want to rise to the top of the tree, if your soul isn't fettered to an office stool, be careful to be guided by this golden rule: Stick close to your desks and never go to sea, and you all may be rulers of the Queen's Navy!