Chapter 173 Thousand-ton gantry crane

Hearing Qin Tao's words, President Francois hesitated slightly, looked at the LNG ship model on the table, and then said: "What if we ask to add another spherical tank in front? "

Once this kind of spherical tank is designed, it is almost impossible to change it, otherwise all the parameters will change and it will have to be redesigned, which will take a lot of time.

 So, generally speaking, if you want to increase the transportation capacity of liquefied gas ships, you usually start with the number of spherical tanks.

 The first ships of this kind usually had two or three spherical tanks, but now, almost all ships sailing on the sea have four spherical tanks, and at the same time, five spherical tanks have also begun to appear.

 Adding a spherical tank is just to further lengthen the hull.

Qin Tao frowned: "Our current design is based on four spherical tanks. If we add another spherical tank, it will have to be redesigned and another month of design time will be added. In this case, loading The capacity of natural gas can be increased to 184,000 cubic meters, making it the largest liquefied gas ship in the world."

"Yes, we want the biggest one. Even if it takes one more month, it is acceptable." Francois said this and became excited again.

Talk to other factories, and delivery will take two or three years. Moreover, those shipyards are so arrogant that no one is willing to change the design. It is four gas tanks. Now, there are five gas tanks. The carrying capacity is the first in the world. It is definitely What he looked forward to most.

"Okay, let's talk about the price. According to the price of similar liquefied gas ships in the world, it can generally be converted to about 30 million US dollars for one gas tank. This kind of liquefied gas ship with five gas tanks should be 150 million US dollars. Ten million, we promise a 20% discount, which is 120 million U.S. dollars. You will first pay a deposit of 60 million U.S. dollars, and the other half will be paid after the ship is delivered."

  Liquefied gas ships are known as the crown of civilian ships, and of course they are quite expensive. In later generations, as construction technology gradually matured, membrane-type liquefied gas ships became the mainstream, and the price was one to two hundred million. Now, the price of such MOSS tank liquefied gas ships is similar.

(It is true that the price in the 1990s has not been found, so it can only be determined based on the prices of later generations. It is said that in later generations, inflation will cause the purchasing power of green coins to also decrease. However, in the 1990s, this kind of ship was considered high-tech, so it was almost the same. Came at this price.)

Hearing the price, Francois frowned a little. This thing is really expensive.

“As the main engine on the ship, do you want to use a steam turbine or a diesel engine? Both have their own merits. The steam turbine is fuel-efficient and still burns heavy oil. The diesel engine has no open flame. For a liquefied gas ship, even a spark is fatal.”

“We want MTU or Mitsubishi marine diesel engines with a speed of at least 10 knots,” Francois said.

Qin Tao nodded: "No problem, then we will try our best to complete the design within one month and complete the construction within six months. Congratulations, you will have the world's largest carrying capacity liquefied gas ship in seven months."

 “I hope you can strictly adhere to the delivery time. If you do not deliver on time, we...”

“You can abandon the ship, but you don’t have to worry about selling a built liquefied gas ship.” Qin Tao said with a smile.

Thinking of the Qatari buyer that Qin Tao just called, Francois was very upset. This kind of business is completely a seller's market.

In this way, the first liquefied gas ship contract was signed. This contract is completely beneficial to the shipyard. In addition to the timely delivery of the ship, other terms are exempt from liability. If there is another delay in debugging the radio, The ship owner is entirely responsible for the matter. If the ship is abandoned for this reason, half of the deposit will never be returned.

This contract is harsh enough and is completely beneficial to the shipyard. However, Francois has no other choice. This is already his best choice. The price is cheap and the delivery time is short. Although he has to risk it for the first time. There are risks in shipbuilding, but catamarans and dredgers can be built here, and the technical strength is still very strong.

By the time these people were sent away, Qin Tao's face was full of smiles.

"Gong Qin, do you want to go to the canteen now? The factory directors haven't left yet." Cong Ju appeared beside him at some unknown time and asked.

"Well, let's go have something to eat, but we have to find a way to send them away in the afternoon." Qin Tao said, "We don't have time to entertain them. We will be very nervous next time. Sister Cong Ju, the call just now was very timely."

Where is the person from Qatar Petroleum and Gas Company? The phone call just now was made by Cong Ju to Qin Tao according to Qin Tao's advance arrangement. Qin Tao's deception successfully made Francois feel the pressure, so he In this way, the contract is obtained.

Generally speaking, negotiating a ship contract will consume a lot of energy. All kinds of details will be discussed, and the price will become the focus of both parties. The negotiations may even last half a year. This can be done in just one hour. If the factory managers who were eating in the canteen knew about signing the contract, they would definitely be jealous to death.

“Well, Qin Gong, but if this happens, our existing shipbuilding stations will not be enough!” Cong Ju frowned and said to Qin Tao.

 It is easy to sign the order, but there is no room for the subsequent construction!

That shallow-draft river-sea type ship has a displacement of 12,000 tons. Therefore, the existing 2,000-ton and 5,000-ton docks at Mingzhou Shipyard are not enough, and the slipway is not large enough, so a floating dock can only be used.

 This liquefied gas ship with five spherical tanks will have a displacement of 30,000 tons, and it also needs to be built in the Shenzhou floating dock.

 However, the floating dock is not that big!

 It cannot be built at the same time, which means that one can only be built first and then the other. The construction period promised by Qin Tao is simply not enough!

 How to solve this problem?

Qin Tao smiled: "What if our floating dock is connected to the current 5,000-ton No. 2 dock?"

 Cong Ju’s eyes suddenly lit up.

  As for other docks, they are all fixed and can be as large as possible, but floating docks are different.

 Floating docks are very flexible, not to mention self-propelled ones.

In the shipbuilding industry, if one dock is not big enough, the method of connecting two docks has also been used.

 At the beginning, when Qin Tao was renovating the Shenzhou, he had already considered this and made preparations for the docking in advance.

"Currently, shallow-draft cargo ships have been built on floating docks. They are built from one end of the floating dock, which leaves about a hundred meters of space. After the design of our natural gas carrier is completed, the floating dock will be moved over. , docked with the No. 2 dock, the docking space is enough to build a natural gas ship." Qin Tao said: "In this way, the two ships can be built together without any delay."

 Cong Ju nodded. She thought of something: "It would be faster if the sections could be welded in advance next to the shipyard."

“You’re right, we should start purchasing 1,000-ton gantry cranes,” Qin Tao said.

 …

 Southeast coast of the United States, Florida, tributary of the Apalachicola River.

 The river is more than two hundred meters wide, and across this river is a huge gantry crane.

"Friends from the East, it is very cost-effective for you to buy this gantry crane." Williams, the relevant person in charge of the local government, said: "This is a product of the German KRUPP company. Its overall span is 206 meters. It is 120 meters high. The gantry crane weighs more than 5,500 tons. If combined with the tracks on both sides of the river, the weight is more than 7,000 tons. Such a behemoth only costs 10 million US dollars, which is absolutely cost-effective. When I first purchased it, I spent more than 30 million. If it weren’t for the fact that the shipyard here hadn’t opened up, you would never have found such a cheap gantry crane.”

 Qin Tao took Cong Ju with him, and they came all the way to inspect. At this time, facing the huge gantry crane, Cong Ju felt extremely emotional.

 This is simply as huge as a giant! If this gantry crane is installed at the Mingzhou Shipyard, the Mingzhou Shipyard can even build super cargo ships of more than 100,000 tons!

 The 100,000-ton floating dock, coupled with this gantry crane, can make Mingzhou Shipyard a first-class shipyard in the country.

Originally, Cong Ju didn’t plan to come over. After all, it costs money to go abroad, and there are a lot of things waiting for her at home.

However, Qin Tao impressed her with one sentence. We will often deal with foreigners in the future. Since you suffered a loss last time, we must have more contacts. This opportunity is hard-won.

 So, Cong Ju followed Qin Tao.

However, this trip has really opened her eyes. In the past, she was like a frog in the well. Whether it was Huating or Mingzhou, they were all domestic. This time, she finally came abroad, to a place full of copper stench. zbist country.

Cong Ju was in shock, while Qin Tao on the side was already bargaining with the other party.

The shipyard here originally invested huge sums of money and planned to do something big. However, as soon as the gantry crane was set up, the shipping industry entered a stage of underestimation. Even the old shipyards were not satisfied. This kind of newly opened shipyard will definitely Lose money.

The owner stopped the loss in time and did not open the shipyard. However, it will not be easy to sell this gantry crane again.

Williams continued gushing: "This gantry crane is spectacular, isn't it? Here in our area, residents call it the landscape on the horizon, just like the Eiffel Tower in France. Now, to sell it, we really Reluctant to give up."

Qin Tao smiled: "Mr. Williams, it has been five or six years since this gantry crane was built. During this time, many buyers should have come to see it, right?"

 Williams could not answer for a while.

 Say no buyers have come? That means their gantry crane is a piece of trash that no one likes! Since no one is buying it, why do they charge a high price?

So, if a large number of buyers came, why didn’t anyone buy it? What's wrong with it?

Williams rolled his eyes and then said: "We only recently decided to sell this gantry crane."

"Oh, that's it." Qin Tao nodded, and then seemed to remember something, and continued: "In this case, we have to ask the German KRUPP company that installed it."

As Qin Tao spoke, he picked up the mobile phone, read the phone number spray-painted on the gantry crane's legs, and pressed the dial button.

Seeing that Qin Tao was about to call, Williams became anxious: "No!"

 “Why?”

“Because, because it’s night over there, it’s impolite to call at this time.” Williams felt sweat drop on his forehead.

"Really?" Qin Tao suddenly realized: "Then I'll wait until I'm working over there before calling. I heard that the German company had a huge headache during the installation and it took three years to complete the installation. I don’t know how long it will take to disassemble this gantry crane.”

When Qin Tao said this, Williams felt his heart thump.

In fact, ever since the shipyard was abandoned, they have received one round of buyers after another. There is no need to worry about selling second-hand gantry cranes. However, when they come, they will take a look at this behemoth and then give the German company a thumbs up. Just call me and leave.

  Why?

 Because the German company had already suffered enough during the installation, which took three years! Created a Guinness World Record for gantry crane installation! Therefore, when someone inquired about the disassembly, they immediately refused, saying, "We won't make an appointment!"

 Since the original supplier was not willing to dismantle it, why not buy a hammer?

Therefore, buyers subconsciously avoid this pitfall. It is easy to buy, but how to dismantle it after buying it, how to ship it after disassembly, and how to ship it back, and how to transport it. These are all big problems, and they are not difficult. Dare to think.

Of course Qin Tao knew that, so he mentioned calling the German company here. Looking at Williams's look now, you can tell that he is worried at this time.

"We have a professional disassembly and assembly company here, which can be completely left to us." Williams finally thought of a solution: "Moreover, our local government and labor unions here have regulations that will not allow foreign workers. Those that come over can only be handed over to our workers. Of course, the cost of disassembly and assembly will be a bit high, after all, the cost of labor here is very high."

Qin Tao nodded: "So that's the case. So, does the selling price of 10 million just mentioned include the disassembly and assembly costs?"

Williams was surprised again.

He originally wanted to use the disassembly and assembly company here to get Qin Tao to give up calling Germany, but it seemed destined to be impossible. He also wanted to make more money through disassembly and assembly. Unexpectedly, Qin Tao Does it actually count?

"Also, the cost of shipping should also be included, right?" Qin Tao continued: "When we complete the purchase, you should deliver it to our door, install it and let us use it directly. In this case, 10 million The price can be considered.”

Williams's originally pale face was even more devoid of any color at this time.

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 (End of this chapter)