The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 642 Storms and Fishing Sonar

Several years later, Chen Hai, who had become the captain of the 4000-ton fishing mother ship "Nanyu 1011" under Nanhua Fisheries and led his fleet to fish along the coastline of Kangaroo Country every day, still recalled the day when he first witnessed the violent side of the ocean.

On this day, he saw the calmness and professionalism of the veteran crew members. The captain stared closely at the radar and nautical chart, constantly adjusting the course, trying to find an area with relatively small winds and waves.

That’s right, due to the extremely advanced electronic technology of Nanyang, even if it is just a thousand-ton fishing boat, the Nanyang-1000 can be equipped with radar and fishing sonar.

The wealthy Nanhua Group naturally would not be stingy and installed the latest weather radar and fishing sonar on these five fishing boats.

The storm lasted for a whole day and night before gradually subsiding.

When the sun shone through the clouds again, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling grateful for having survived a disaster.

After going through the ups and downs, Chen Hai found that the crew's cohesion had become stronger.

After the storm, the fleet arrived at the designated sea area as planned.

The real work begins.

In the eyes of crew members who come from traditional fishing backgrounds, finding fish schools still depends on the old experience of "observing the water color, watching the bird flocks, and finding the flow boundaries."

They pointed at the seemingly calm sea, arguing about where the fish might be. Several veteran fishermen gathered together, judging the currents and clouds based on their experience, but their opinions were divided.

"I see the water over there is dark, I think there is something there."

"No, see those seabirds? Where they're circling is where the fish are."

"It's so deep in the sea, it's hard to see with just your eyes..."

Chen Hai watched from the side, feeling unsure.

He only knew the ship could hold 250 tons, but how long would it take to fill it? Ten days? Half a month? He couldn't imagine how powerful sonar was.

However, the young technician on the boat, who was wearing glasses and came from the Nanyang Radio Institute No. 6, was wearing headphones and concentrating on operating the mysterious sonar screen, seemingly turning a deaf ear to the arguments of the old fishermen.

Suddenly, the technician shouted excitedly:

"Captain! There's something going on. A huge echo, 80 to 120 meters deep. It's a very large school of fish, most likely tuna."

The captain and several veteran fishermen approached doubtfully, only to see a dense, moving patch of light on the screen, covering a fairly large area.

"This...this bunch of shiny dots, are they fish?" An old fisherman with wrinkles on his face scratched his head. He has been dealing with the sea all his life, but he cannot understand the "holy book" of modern technology.

"Is it reliable? Don't waste your time."

"Sonar doesn't lie." The technician pushed his glasses up proudly. "This is the latest technology from our sixth institute. We use... well, it's decades ahead of the rest."

"It detects underwater objects through sound echoes and can determine fish density, approximate species, and depth."

So awesome?

Chen Hai felt like he was listening to a divine book.

"Cast the nets." The captain looked at the unprecedented density of light spots on the screen, then looked at the skeptical old fishermen, and finally chose to believe in technology and gave the order decisively.

A huge trawl net was thrown into the sea, and the fishing boat adjusted its course and began towing.

During the hours of waiting, the atmosphere on the deck was somewhat subtle.

The old fishermen looked at the sea from time to time, then at the tightly closed door of the sonar room, their hearts beating fast.

Chen Hai was both expectant and nervous.

A few hours later, it was time to raise the net.

The winch roared heavily, and the net bag slowly emerged from the water.

When the net was free from the sea surface and the huge, silver-shining, lively fish inside appeared, the entire deck was silent at first, and then erupted into thunderous cheers.

"It's tuna, a really big yellowfin tuna."

"Oh my goodness! There's so much bonito."

"This net, this net must be dozens of tons, right? It's equivalent to half a year's worth of running."

The old fisherman, who had been skeptical just now, was now so excited that his hands were shaking. He looked towards the sonar room with a look of awe in his eyes: "It's amazing... It's really amazing..."

The technician came out with a faint smile on his face, hiding his achievements and fame.

One net after another, the harvest is amazing.

Not only did they discover large schools of tuna, but they also found abundant schools of sardines and mackerel. The five fishing boats seemed to have entered an inexhaustible fish vault, and their fishing operations went exceptionally smoothly.

Chen Hai and the crew took shifts day and night to process the catch, sort it, bleed it, and send it to the freezing chamber.

Watching baskets of tuna and grouper worth thousands of dollars being sent into the cold storage, and calculating how far they were from filling the 250-ton capacity, everyone was tired but happy, their faces filled with the joy of a good harvest.

They knew that this time, by following the commander-in-chief's new ships and new technologies, they would really get rich.

However, good luck does not always accompany you.

After the Nanyu 105, a member of the fleet, was hauling in a net, the chief engineer rushed to the bridge in a panic: "Captain, this is bad. The main refrigeration compressor is alarming, the pressure is abnormal, and the refrigeration efficiency has dropped sharply."

The news came like a bolt from the blue.

If the refrigeration system of a ship loaded with nearly 200 tons of precious tuna and high-end grouper fails, the fish will start to rot and spoil in just one or two days under the high tropical temperatures, and the catch worth millions will be lost.

To make matters worse, the sky in the distance showed that a tropical depression was forming and could develop into a new typhoon.

The captain of Nanyu 101, who served as the commander-in-chief, faced a difficult decision.

Should we take the risk and continue the operation, praying that the refrigeration unit of Ship 105 can hold up?

Or should we abandon the fishing grounds immediately, return at full speed, and race against the possible typhoon?

"Repair urgently. Gather the engineers from the five ships and repair them with all our strength." The captain gave the order with red eyes.

All members of the engine room team were mobilized, and all technicians in the fleet also joined in the investigation.

As time passed, the temperature in the cabin began to rise slowly.

After several hours of intense investigation, it was discovered that a key valve had failed and could not be completely repaired on board, so it could only be temporarily handled to maintain minimum cooling.

"No, the risk is too great." The captain looked at the cabin temperature records and weather charts, gritted his teeth and made a decision: "Notify the fleet, everyone return immediately, we can't take this gamble."

The five fishing boats immediately started to run at full speed and sped towards Yangon.

They must rush back to the port before the fish on Ship 105 spoils and before a typhoon forms.

It's a race against time and weather.

Chen Hai also felt the heavy atmosphere on the ship. Everyone was praying that the machinery of Ship 105 could hold up and that the storm would come later.

Fortunately, the fleet finally returned to Yangon Port safely.

Although the quality of some fish caught on board ship 105 declined slightly, most of the high-end fish were preserved.