Chapter 618 The navigator drank too much and was eaten by a polar bear

   "Boss Qin, the fleet of Sanhang Heavy Industry has entered the North Pole." In the headquarters of Mingzhou Group, Qin Tao received the news from Xu Zhengyang, he nodded, and then looked at the busy shipyard.

   "They are great pioneers, let them go to the Arctic route to experience it. In the future, we will also build a powerful icebreaker fleet."

   "Great pioneer? Lao Maozi opened up the Arctic sea route decades ago, right?" Xu Zhengyang asked a little puzzled.

Lao Maozi, who is located in a severe cold area, has always suffered from the inconvenient connection between the East and the West. In the early days of Tsarist Russia, they were already exploring the possibility of sailing in the Arctic. They first opened up some relatively short routes. By the 1930s , They finally opened up the route between Northern Europe and the Far East.

  In 1932, Schmidt led the expedition team of the Arctic Science Institute on board the "Siberian" icebreaker, and started the voyage from the port of Arkhangelsk to the Bering Strait under single navigation conditions. It took them 2 months and 3 days to complete the entire voyage of the Northern Sea Route from the mouth of the North Dvina River to the Bering Strait. By 1939, the "Stalin" icebreaker realized two-way navigation on the Northern Sea Route, sailing from Murmansk to Anadyr Bay in the Bering Sea, and then returning.

After this route was opened, it immediately played a role in the following World War II. The Far East fleet entered the Barents Sea via the Northern Sea Route to support the European battlefield. At the same time, some of the materials in the aid bill were also transported through the Arctic route. over here.

   "It was indeed opened up before, but it was done by Lao Maozi's own people, mostly for military purposes, but this time, it is for civilian use. Can this be the same? This is the first time that a foreign merchant fleet has sailed into the Arctic on a large scale."

   "Boss Qin, if this is the case, then Da Mao should attach great importance to this Arctic route, and won't create obstacles to the Arctic route. How could he agree to our plan?" Xu Zhengyang was still a little puzzled.

Qin Tao smiled: "Yes, Da Mao is definitely looking forward to opening up the Arctic route, but they are definitely not saving money for shipowners from all over the world, they are making money for themselves. This time, the ship of Sanxing Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. The team entered the North Pole and only paid for a satellite navigation system, how can this work? Da Mao hasn’t made enough money yet, so next, Da Mao will definitely continue to blackmail them in order to make money.”

   "Won't that have bad repercussions?"

"That depends on how the accident investigation is carried out. What if the final result of the investigation is that the quality of the natural gas ship built by Sanhang Heavy Industry is unqualified?" Qin Tao said calmly: "Think about it, what happens inside the natural gas ship?" The liquid is put in. During the ice-breaking process, the liquid constantly sloshes back and forth inside and impacts, which brings a huge impact force to the side wall. It is normal for the side wall to break. Therefore, natural gas ships want to sail in the Arctic in the future. , it would be best to hire an old-fashioned icebreaker."

  Da Mao has built a large number of professional icebreakers for the Arctic route, there are dozens of them, and there is no business for those icebreakers. That's a lot of money!

  Therefore, Da Mao has no reason to refuse.

   It’s not that the Arctic route is not good, but that you are sailing in the wrong way. Come and rent our Da Mao’s icebreaker to ensure that you have no problem sailing all the way!

   As long as this kind of fooling around, not only will it not have a bad impact on the route, but it will also convince the shipowner that renting a professional icebreaker is the best way!

  Xu Zhengyang nodded, he didn't want to understand this point, but now President Qin has figured it out all at once.

   "President Qin, will we also invest in the Arctic route in the future?" Xu Zhengyang became curious about this again.

"Although our navy is growing stronger, in the future, we are destined to be unable to become a global navy and cannot protect our maritime trade. Therefore, the most important thing is to take the Arctic route and avoid the dangerous Strait of Malacca. .”

Qin Tao has been laying out these things all the time: assisting in the construction of Gwadar Port, building railways and oil pipelines, so that various resources from the Middle East will be directly transported to China by land. The new One Belt One Road plan has not yet been proposed, but it will continue If it develops in this direction, as for trade with Europe, it is obviously better to go through the Arctic route than to go around the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca.

   "However, the Arctic route may not be able to sail in winter, right?" Xu Zhengyang asked.

   "We're looking forward to climate change. The ice caps in the Arctic continue to melt. Even in winter, there won't be a particularly thick ice layer, which will not pose a threat to our navigation." Qin Tao said.

   Xu Zhengyang nodded. Since Mr. Qin said so, it will definitely come true. He has unconditional trust in Mr. Qin. I admire Mr. Qin's vision even more.

   As for now, just wait and see the good show of Sanxing Heavy Industry!

  Eight natural gas ships, the formation is also very large, and sailing in the harsh weather of the Arctic is even more spectacular.

  At the same time, this fleet has also attracted the attention of the world, and many media have begun to report it.

   Zhang Zhong said that the program also specially made such a special program.

"Hello, everyone, our program today is called Zhang Zhong Talking about the Arctic Route." On the TV screen, Zhang Zhong maintained his usual seriousness: "Although it is said that natural gas ships are sailing on the Arctic route, but , we also know that the original opening of this sea route was for military purposes, so this episode of our program is not considered to be out of bounds. This time, we invited Professor Wang, an expert from the Ship Design Institute, to tell us about the The story of the icebreaker."

   "Hi everyone, I'm Professor Wang. I once designed a Type 210 ocean-going icebreaker. Of course, our domestic icebreaker technology is not advanced enough to compare with Da Mao's advanced icebreaker technology. However, we have also embarked on an independent road."

   "Professor Wang, please tell us some working principles of the icebreaker first."

"Okay, there are two ways for an icebreaker. One is to crash, to forcibly smash a way forward. This way can only deal with ice with a small thickness. The other way is to press, rushing to the ice, Then rely on the weight of the hull and the structure below to directly crush the ice layer, this method can break through the ice layer three to four meters thick, and currently the most advanced icebreakers in Da Mao have this method.”

   "So, what method is used for the ice-breaking natural gas ship in Kimchi Country?"

"We haven't received relevant information on this, but we can analyze that civilian ships will not use powerful engines in pursuit of economy, as long as they can maintain an economical speed of more than ten knots. These natural gas ships Its power system is very advanced. It should adopt the patent of Mingzhou Group. It uses a dual-fuel engine. It burns diesel when it is empty, and burns the leaked natural gas when it is heavy. Due to the lack of power, it should not be able to drive. The ability of the ice surface can only be used in the form of collision."

   Driving on the ice requires not only strong power, but also ballast water tanks at the front and rear. Adjust the weight of the hull so that the bow is tilted up, otherwise you will definitely not be able to get on.

"This kind of impact method can't break through the thick ice layer. Of course, it is no problem to use it in summer. After all, they will not encounter too thick ice layer. However, the gas ship is loaded with liquid natural gas. If the internal structure is not strengthened, and the original liquid cargo fencing system of an ordinary natural gas ship is still used, accidents will easily occur under the impact of liquefied natural gas."

   "Understood, once the frequent collisions occur, the liquid cargo fence system will crack, which may cause terrible natural gas leakage." Zhang Zhong said.

"Yes, we don't know how the technicians of Sanhang Heavy Industry solved these problems. When it comes to ice-breaking ships, the one with the most experience in building them should be Da Mao. If these ships are built in Hongxing Shipyard, they should be Better."

  The construction of an ice-breaking natural gas ship is very complicated, and it is not something ordinary companies can handle!

  Zhang Zhong said that the program has a great influence in the world, so this argument spread quickly.

  However, the fleet sailing in the Arctic at this time cannot receive this TV program for the time being.

  Due to the limitation of the shape of the earth itself, geosynchronous satellites cannot cover high latitude areas, so it is impossible for the fleet to receive such news.

   Sailing in the Arctic, you have to fight against the cold and loneliness. When sailing in other sea areas, you can also watch a TV. In the Arctic, the TV has no signal!

   "Come on, take a sip, this stuff can warm you up." Krikalev took out his own vodka and handed it to Cui Wenji who seemed to be trembling.

  Cui Wenji shook his head: "No, no, I can't take the lead in breaking the rules, navigator, where have we sailed?"

   "Where you are sailing, just look at Glonass. I am the navigator, not the positioner." Krikalev said.

   This sentence is really correct.

  The navigator relies on his own experience to determine where the ice is the thinnest and it is best to go, and where he is, he can use the satellite positioning system. After this system appears, it will be very easy to determine his position.

   "Okay." Cui Wenji looked at the first officer: "Look at where we are."

   "Yes, north latitude..." The satellite positioning system is only for positioning, and navigation needs to cooperate with digital maps. The current receiver only displays the values ​​​​of latitude and longitude, and the values ​​​​need to be marked on the chart.

   "In other words, we are only a hundred nautical miles away from our destination?"

   "Yes, we will be able to arrive at the port to load natural gas tonight!" the chief mate said excitedly.

   "Tell the good news to the entire fleet, Manager Park."

   It is impossible for Zheng Zhenze to come with him. He sent his most trusted subordinate, Park Renjun, to lead the entire fleet to open up the route.

  Piao Renjun was not on the first ship, but on the MIR in the middle. In order to save money, they only hired one navigator, so they could only listen to the report from the first ship.

Anyway, with a satellite navigation system and a navigator, there should be no problem. If one or two are hired on a ship, the price is too expensive. Their company is now in the stage of debt management, so there is no problem at all. More money to spend.

  It's so cold here! Park Renjun stayed in the cabin almost all day long, so he was very happy when he heard the news.

   "It's here, it's finally here, it's great!" He came to the porthole, looked at the beautiful ice flowers growing on it, and looked at the blurry world outside.

   "Manager Park, there won't be any moths in Da Mao, right?" At this moment, someone beside him asked.

"Probably not. The Yamal oil and gas field is located in the Arctic Circle, and the usual transportation is very inconvenient. This time our fleet came to transport natural gas, and they should welcome it. Before winter comes, we will make a few more trips." " Park Renjun said: "I only come to this **** place once!"

   To open up a new route, Park Renjun personally led the team, but he decided to only take it this time, and never come again next time!

  At eleven thirty in the evening local time, it finally fell into the night.

That's right, in the Arctic Circle, you will experience completely different conditions from those in other regions. For example, the polar day phenomenon. If it is around the summer solstice, there will be no night in the Arctic Circle. The horizon falls and the day is over.

  Now, the night is relatively short, only about an hour. Moreover, even at night, it is not as dark as in the middle and low latitudes. The ice layer is still reflecting light, and the surroundings are a bit foggy.

   "Look, what's over there?" A crew member pointed his finger to the north, and under the night there, a beautiful green background appeared, as if it was a scene in a movie.

  Krikalev took another sip of wine, with disdain in his mouth: "Isn't it just the aurora, what's so rare, we saw it a lot in the past."

For those who came to the Arctic Circle and saw the aurora for the first time, this scene will never be forgotten. Even Cui Wenji watched it for a long time before recalling: "Attention, we are about to dock! Everyone do it Prepare!"

  The Yamal peninsula is lit with stars, and the personnel here in the oil and gas fields are also ready to welcome them. For many years, this is the first time that a natural gas ship with a foreign flag has come to them!

  Although it was night, the visibility was not bad. Under the leadership of Krikalev, the huge ice-breaking natural gas ship DAON finally arrived at the destination successfully!

  Official loading!

Krikalev stood on the permafrost, watched the natural gas ship start to pre-cool, and said to the people around him: "I'm going to chat with good friends inside, don't worry, I will come back when the ship sails of."

   After speaking, Krikalev slipped away.

  The life of a sailor is boring, so once the ship docks to load and unload cargo, the sailor will go ashore to have fun. All ports are prosperous by sailors from various countries, and various service industries are full of vitality.

   At this time, Krikalev's request seemed nothing special.

  However, four days later, when all eight natural gas ships were loaded with natural gas and were about to return, they finally found something was wrong.

   "Where's the navigator?" Park Renjun was anxious.

   "Manager Park, we have already sent someone to contact you." Cui Wenji was sweating.

"There is no connection between this place and the inland, and we can only travel by boat. In the past few days, except for our boats, no other boats have docked, so he must not be able to escape." Park Renjun analyzed: "He must be hiding. In the oil and gas fields, send more people to find him! Also, ask the people in the oil and gas fields to help!"

When loading the goods, the people here did not embarrass them, the pre-cooling and loading were done in one go, the efficiency was quite high, and there was no delay at all, so they were full of trust here. big problem.

  Although there are cases where the navigator received his salary in advance and then disembarked and ran away, it should not be possible here.

  Many people are powerful, everyone searched together, and finally found something after two hours.

   "Over the No. 3 oil well, there is a corpse that is frozen hard, and the upper body is gone!" An employee of the oil and gas field discovered this unexpected situation.

  It's frozen hard, and the upper body is gone?

  Everyone was stunned.

How is this going?

  Park Renjun and Cui Wenji went over in person and saw the lower half of the body. The pants they were wearing were indeed the leather pants that Krikalev often wore, but how could this be?

   "This kind of situation is very common here." The staff of the oil and gas field also said with emotion: "Everyone likes to drink, and sometimes they drink too much, lie outside and fall asleep, and freeze into ice sculptures."

   In the freezing Da Mao territory, almost every year there are people who drink too much and freeze to death. However, the big guy is still a little strange: "What about the upper half of his body?"

   "It should have entered the stomach of a polar bear."

  The animal at the top of the arctic food chain is the polar bear, which is almost the largest carnivore on land. An adult polar bear weighs five to six hundred kilograms. If you encounter this animal in the wild, the danger is quite high.

As for the oil field, the No. 3 oil well is the outermost one. It is normal for a polar bear to pass by by chance and eat half of Krikalev in one bite. Do you feel bad after eating half of it?

   This is troublesome!

   "We shouldn't just hire one navigator, even if we hire one more, we won't encounter such an accident!" Park Renjun said angrily.

   Hire one more, maybe the two of them will die here together! Lao Maozi has no other shortcomings, but the smelly problem of drinking is really helpless! Cui Wenji thought so in his heart, and then asked Park Renjun: "Manager Park, what should we do now? Shall we hire another navigator?"

"No need, we don't have that much time, we have to make a few more trips before winter comes." Park Renjun said: "Although there is no navigator, we have already been here once, and the charts have been drawn. As long as we follow the route we came from, we shouldn’t encounter any problems.”

Park Renjun didn't want to wait, he didn't have time, and he didn't want to wait here for too long. At this time, he was wearing a full set of winter clothes, but his eyes were exposed, and his eyebrows were already covered with ice, which made his skin tremble. It hurts, like being stabbed in the bone by the cold.

   It went smoothly all the way, and he relaxed his vigilance.

   Besides, they all drive ice-breaking natural gas ships. Even if they encounter ice, they can break through the ice and move forward. There is nothing to worry about.

   "Gather and count all the personnel, as long as everyone is here, return immediately!" Park Renjun said.

   Two hours later, the fleet set sail.

  The person in charge of the oil and gas field personally sent them away, watched the fleet disappear, and with a smile on his face, he said to the people around him: "Send a telegram, everything is in the plan."

Without the leadership of a navigator, the fleet of eight natural gas ships set off on the road, and the DAON was still sailing at the forefront. The crew on it had always been working under Krikalev. Constantly drawing charts, constantly mastering the skills of navigating in high latitude areas.

   Now, they are well aware of their great responsibilities, and they dare not be careless. They operate their own ships and sail carefully.

  The sun went down again, accompanied by the Northern Lights, they continued sailing.

  On the bridge of the DAON, the light beams of two searchlights shone forward, illuminating their way home.

   "Report, there is a glacier ahead."

  Hearing the chief mate's report, Cui Wenji frowned, and then said: "Inform the fleet that we have encountered a glacier on our route, and now we need to break through the ice. Pay attention to the whole ship and prepare to start breaking the ice!"

"yes!"

  Everyone got nervous.

  The huge DAON hit the huge glacier with full power, and the moment their ship touched the glacier, everyone felt the hull shaking.

  They grabbed the handrails beside them, watching the ice surface that their hull smashed through continued to expand, and at the same time, the speed of the ship was getting smaller and smaller.

  Finally, the hull came to a stop. This time, they hit a distance of more than 200 meters. The broken ice floes on both sides of their hull looked so spectacular.

   "Attention, back up!" Cui Wenji was quite satisfied with the impact.

  The natural gas ship began to fall backwards, fell a few hundred meters, turned on full power again, and hit it.

   Just like that, they hit again and again, advancing again and again, and when the sun appeared in the eastern sky again, they had advanced several kilometers.

   "Report to the captain, something is wrong!" the first officer said to Cui Wenji with some worry.

   "What's wrong?" Cui Wenji looked outside curiously, and his face was a little ugly: "We did not encounter such a big glacier when we came here. Could it be that we went the wrong way?"

   "The data displayed by Glonass shows that our current position is correct, and we are on the return route. The land is on our right, so it should be correct." The crew replied.

At high latitudes, the indications of the magnetic compass will be inaccurate. This is because the lines of magnetic induction are no longer parallel to the ground, but have a large vertical component. When Lao Maozi shot down the passenger plane of South Kimchi Country, among them One theory is that the magnetic compass on the passenger plane made an error at that time.

  So, after the development of the global navigation and positioning system, it is more appropriate to rely on the satellite navigation system than the magnetic compass in high latitude areas.

At this time, Cui Wenji was finally relieved by the crew's answer: "The climate in this Arctic region is changing abnormally. It is likely that there is a new cold current, which has caused the ice here to be frozen. But don't worry, Our ships have the ability to break through the ice, and we will definitely be able to open a passage through the ice."

   At this time, they are not very worried. After all, their ships are ice-breaking types, and they can open channels on the ice and return to the east.

   All they have to do is sail east! However, the weather seems to be very cold!

  (end of this chapter)