Binjiang Police Affairs

Chapter 1447 - 237: The Most Perilous Voyage

The fleet made a brief stop in Malaysia and set sail again as planned, passing through the busy international shipping lane of the Malacca Strait, crossing the Indian Ocean!The importance of the "escort captain" was evident when passing through the Malacca Strait.

Vessels moving in opposite directions and coming head-on passed one after another. Especially during passing maneuvers, it was crucial to communicate via radio according to navigation rules to ensure no collisions occurred.

Navy ships are floating national territories and represent the country once they set sail. Naval etiquette is also very important, with every detail needing attention.

For instance, when encountering warships and merchant ships from countries with diplomatic relations with China, the national flag must be lowered to one-third of the flagpole before gradually rising within close prediction range. The vessels receiving this etiquette will also lower and then raise their national flags.

The order of salutes at sea is equally important.

Merchant ships salute first when encountering warships.

When warships encounter each other, the ship with the lower rank salutes first.

Only mine sweepers or minehunters are exempt from saluting based on rank. Regardless of the rank of the vessel, even if it’s an aircraft carrier, they must salute and sound the horn when encountering a mine sweeper or minehunter.

Perhaps due to some historical coincidence, a significant segment of the voyage of this visiting fleet followed the routes Zheng He sailed over 500 years ago in his seven maritime expeditions.

Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led a massive fleet of over 200 treasure ships on seven journeys back and forth across the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, visiting more than 30 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa, reaching as far as the Red Sea coast and the East Coast of Africa.

Zheng He’s voyages preceded Columbus’s arrival on the American continent by 87 years and Dias’s discovery of Africa’s Cape Horn by 82 years, making him a pioneer of the world’s great maritime era. Yet, many people only know Columbus and not Zheng He’s voyages.

On July 28, the fleet safely arrived on the ancient yet unfamiliar African continent, with its first visit to the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam.

In two days, it would be Ba Yi Army Day, and as per the visit plan, the officers and soldiers would celebrate at sea.

The two commanders discussed with the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania and decided to celebrate in advance. On the aft flight deck of the "Shenzhen" ship, a massive red banner with white characters hung over the hangar doors: The People’s Republic of China Embassy in the United Republic of Tanzania, People’s Liberation Army Navy Fleet Ba Yi Army Day Reception!

A massive tent was erected on the deck, with lanterns hanging in each corner, colorful lights surrounding it, and the ship’s full flag fluttering in the wind. Lights outlined the ship, illuminating the port in a festive atmosphere as visiting fleet officers and friends from various countries gathered to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army of China.

As joyful Chinese folk music like "Jubilant," "Step by Step," and "Purple Bamboo Melody" played, groups of guests boarded the warship.

Among them were Tanzanian Defense Force and Navy generals in dress uniforms, diplomatic envoys and military attachés from dozens of countries stationed in Tanzania, as well as representatives from the Chinese embassy, Chinese aid experts in Tanzania, and Chinese expatriates and overseas Chinese.

Guests of different skin colors gathered joyfully on the Chinese warship to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the Chinese military’s birth.

During the evening, Adviser Wu encountered Tanzanian Navy Colonel Masa Li, who spoke some Chinese.

This colonel, with 30 years of military service, like many of his peers, received professional training from the Chinese Navy.

As he talked about this experience, the colonel was extremely excited and proud.

During the conversation, he gestured and spoke animatedly, worried that others might not understand; suddenly, he said he could sing the Beijing Opera "We are the Children of Workers and Farmers," and began to sing with animated gestures.

His Peking Opera style and accent, combined with his inaccurate pronunciation, made everyone around burst into laughter.

U.S. military attaché Major Jiekaline also attended the evening, showing great interest in the "Shenzhen" ship, frequently asking Political Commissioner Shen, "How do you resupply at sea?" "Is the ship’s equipment made in China?"

Upon receiving clear answers, he gave a thumbs up and claimed, "I can see that your ship has quite high technological capability and distance voyage capacity."

Regarding technological level, Chinese warships have a significant gap compared to their U.S. counterparts.

Adviser Wu didn’t believe his flattering words, knowing that complimenting others is practically a catchphrase for them, and military attachés are essentially open spies!

For this reason, not all areas of the warship were open to them.

Adviser Wu made a round, ensuring no one was paying attention, quickly grabbed some food, casually walked out of the canopy, and headed to the machinery room, which was not only closed to outsiders but also bustling with activity.

"Salted Fish, take a break, have some food."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be accompanying the guests upstairs?"

Like the officers from the electromechanical department, Han Yu was in work clothes, with oil stains on his hands, body, and even face.

They were working overnight on urgent repairs to the main boiler!

Earlier, issues were found with the sealing of the oil tank on the supply ship. The oil tank was full, and since the warship had been sailing, only simple blocking was done, making comprehensive repairs impossible.

Just what was feared happened, as heavy oil indeed leaked into the seawater. With several mid-way resupplies, the heavy oil that had leaked into the seawater caused a layer of salt buildup inside the boiler and pipelines, even causing slight corrosion.

South Africa was the next visit, and these faults needed to be quickly resolved.

Adviser Wu greeted the sweat-drenched chief engineer, found a relatively clean place to sit, and said, "I came to check on you and bring you some food."

"I’d forgotten I was hungry; now that you mention it, I indeed feel a bit hungry."

Han Yu took up a small fork, picked up a piece of cake, and put it in his mouth, while calling back, "Old Hu, come, have some too."

"Thanks, Han, but I’m not hungry. You eat."

"Xiao Gu!"

"Han, I ate before coming down."

"Alright, if you don’t eat, I will."

Above the deck, festively decorated, filled with honored guests and gentle voices, who would have thought the engine room below was a hive of busy activity?

Adviser Wu considered Han Yu and the officers from the electromechanical department as "unsung heroes," quietly asking, "Salted Fish, how long will it take to fix the faults?"

"We’ll fix it by dawn, no—not just aiming for it, it must be fixed by dawn."

"Tomorrow the ship will be open all day. The commander said that during the opening, all officers and soldiers will be organized to visit the Tanzania National Museum in two groups. You all will work until dawn, certainly needing to sleep during the day, which means you won’t be able to go tomorrow."

When the warship docked at the pier, the compatriots striving on the African continent were so excited.

It is said that there are many compatriots striving in South Africa too, thinking about this made Han Yu feel that the fleet’s visit was very meaningful; as he ate, he said, "What’s so good about visiting a museum, anyway? Besides, I didn’t bring US Dollars, so even if I went ashore, I wouldn’t be able to buy anything."

"You didn’t bring US Dollars, and that makes it seem like I have US Dollars."

Adviser Wu smiled and explained: "The people from the embassy said that the Tanzania National Museum has a chart used by Zheng He when he sailed to the Western Ocean, along with Ming Dynasty porcelain that Zheng He brought as gifts onboard. These are the glorious achievements of our ancestors who explored the oceans. Visiting the museum can greatly boost the morale of the fleet’s officers and soldiers."

Our ancestors ventured onto the oceans hundreds of years ago.

What were the conditions then compared to the conditions for the visiting fleet now?

Now we’re commanding China’s new generation of warships, and the marine and equipment technology, along with logistical capabilities, are incomparable to those from over 500 years ago.

Thinking of this, Han Yu sighed: "We must inherit the wishes of our ancestors and create new splendor in the maritime history of the Chinese nation!"

"Speak plainly, don’t sound like the Political Commissioner."

"Tomorrow we’ll visit in two groups, right, one in the morning and one in the afternoon?"

"Seems like it."

"Then I’ll sleep in the morning and visit in the afternoon."

"Sure."

We say we’ve gone abroad, but in Malaysia, we didn’t really go ashore.

Either wandering on the dock or attending receptions with the Commander, eating and returning to the ship, we never properly explored around.

Adviser Wu thought this was an opportunity, laughed, and said: "Salted Fish, Captain Qian mentioned there’s a place on shore where foreign currency can be exchanged. He asked around and found that you can exchange RMB for Tanzanian Shillings."

"What’s the point of exchanging money?"

"Buy something. It’s rare to go abroad, we can’t return empty-handed. Plus, unlike you, I’m single; you have a wife and kids. You should bring some gifts for the kids."

Han Yu looked back, then leaned close to his ear: "Brother, I only brought five hundred RMB this time. I know Tanzania seems poor, but its expenses are high. Even if I can exchange for Tanzanian Shillings, five hundred RMB won’t buy much."

Adviser Wu asked in surprise: "You only brought five hundred RMB?"

"That’s quite a lot. I won’t hide it, but I’ve never felt this wealthy before!"

"Hahahaha."

"Why are you laughing?"

"Sister-in-law manages money very strictly. For a Deputy Department Level leader, she only gave you five hundred RMB as pocket money."

"You, a single man, wouldn’t understand. This is called living wisely. The right kind of wife to marry understands this, you’ll see when you have a family."

While joking around, Vice Captain Li and Captain Qian, who were supposed to be attending a reception, hurried over.

"Vice Captain, Master Qian, is something the matter?"

"Han Yu, we’ve just received weather information; you should take a look."

"Oh."

Han Yu took it and immediately furrowed his brows.

According to the visit plan, the fleet is scheduled to sail the day after tomorrow, crossing the Mozambique Channel to Cape Horn, marking the most treacherous leg of this visit.

However, from the newly received weather analysis, it’s currently winter in the Southern Hemisphere, where the strong West Wind Zone of the Atlantic collides with the warm current from the Indian Ocean, creating a super-strong low-pressure zone on the route, leading to fierce winds and huge waves in the sea they are about to navigate.

Seeing Han Yu deep in thought, Captain Qian softly said: "The International Maritime Organization issued a notice saying that before August 7, the winds on the route from the Mozambique Channel to Cape Horn may reach nearly 12 degrees, and wave heights may exceed 10 meters."

Vice Captain Li worriedly added: "Just two hours ago, a 100,000-ton oil tanker sank in the Cape Horn waters."

"What are the Commander’s instructions?"

"The Commander wants us to study it closely and find out if our fleet can withstand the storm."

"Just looking at this analysis isn’t enough. Are there satellite cloud images?"

"Yes."

Vice Captain Li opened his briefcase and took out the latest satellite images.

The storm doesn’t cover the entire sea area; Han Yu gazed at the images for about five minutes, then looked up: "This is different from the typhoons we’ve encountered before; we can’t just wait a few days to avoid it."

"That’s what the Commander said too." Vice Captain Li took a few deep breaths and said: "This leg of the journey isn’t short; we’ll need at least one resupply. Considering the slow sailing speed of the supply ship, our Captain suggests taking the initiative, letting the supply ship sail 10 hours earlier, and after our ship finishes the visit, we shall chase full-speed, navigating around the low-pressure area."

"What does the Commander say?"

"The Commander wants to hear your opinion and Captain Qian’s."

"Captain Qian, what do you think?"

"If it were one of my previous ships, I am confident we could make it through. It’s my first time on a warship, so I’m not familiar with this ship’s condition."

"Worried about the main engine?"

"If power is lost during a critical moment, the consequences are unimaginable."

Having acted as an unofficial electrical and mechanical leader for so many days, Han Yu had some understanding of the conditions of the two main engines; he weighed things and said: "Though these two main engines are prone to minor issues, they’re unlikely to fail at a critical moment."

Vice Captain Li instinctively looked at the mechanical engineer, who paused for a moment, clenched his fists, and said: "Han Yu is right; we can ensure that neither the main nor auxiliary engines will fail, losing power is out of the question!"

"Good, I will report it to the Commander like this."

"Let’s skip eating; we also need to hurry and get to work."

...

PS: Some readers may think that the new ship’s visit couldn’t have been so fraught, but in actuality, many faults did occur during that visit, which the officers and soldiers diligently and quickly resolved. Looking back, venturing out and reaching the deep blue was incredibly challenging back then.