latelenovela Chapter 638: Self-produced first 1-ton ship and ocean-going fishing vessel
Chapter 638: Self-produced first 1-ton ship and ocean-going fishing vessel
On April 28, 1946, in the Yangon Port area and the Yangon Shipyard on the coast, gongs and drums were beating and firecrackers were blasting.
There was a thick layer of red confetti, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and festivity.
When Chinese people do things, they just want a lively and auspicious atmosphere.
Especially today, on this auspicious day, the first 10,000-ton ocean-going cargo ship independently built by the United States of Southeast Asia is about to be launched.
A convoy of several black bulletproof cars drove into the shipyard area and stopped near the main building.
The door of the leading car opened, and a slim bodyguard wearing sunglasses got out first. After looking around vigilantly, he respectfully trotted around the car and opened the back door.
Zhang Chi ended his brief rest with his eyes closed, bent down and walked out of the car.
The sunshine in Yangon at the end of April is quite powerful.
I just felt the heat wave coming towards me.
There was no air conditioning in the car, and standing outside, even though the bodyguards around him immediately opened an umbrella, it was still uncomfortably hot.
Zhang Chi simply straightened his Mao suit, which was slightly wrinkled from sitting for a long time, and put on a gentle and majestic smile.
Officials from all levels in Nanyang, military representatives, and business people who had been waiting for a long time immediately gathered around, their faces filled with joy and honor.
In front of them, led by the factory director Li Zhenbang, several key Chinese engineers and the two Italian consultants Luigi Ferrara and Giuseppe Mattia lined up, waiting excitedly.
Zhang Chi stepped forward and first shook hands with Li Zhenbang’s hands that were covered with calluses and had thick joints.
"Director Li, thank you for your hard work. Today is a good day." Zhang Chi shook it vigorously, speaking loudly to ensure that everyone around him could hear it.
"It's not hard, it's not hard at all. It's all thanks to the great leadership of the commander-in-chief and the support of the whole country." Li Zhenbang's dark face was flushed, and his voice trembled with excitement.
Then, Zhang Chi shook hands with several Chinese engineers and two Italian consultants one by one and expressed his gratitude to them in Italian.
Consultant Yidai was flattered and kept saying "it's my honor".
Afterwards, Prime Minister Zhang Guangsong and others also stepped forward in turn to shake hands with the heroes of the shipyard.
This scene was captured frantically by reporters from all walks of life who had already set up their cameras outside the cordon.
The spotlights flashed.
At such important collective events, reporters not only pay attention to who attends, but also keenly observe who is absent.
Soon, sharp-eyed reporters discovered that the minister who was supposed to attend and was in charge of some livelihood affairs, Chen Qiyuan, who came from a local Chinese family in Malaysia, was nowhere to be seen.
Standing slightly behind Prime Minister Zhang Guangsong was an unfamiliar young face.
This man looked to be in his early twenties, with a tall and straight figure. In this hot weather, he was still meticulously dressed in a full dark suit and a neat tie. There was no expression on his face, and his eyes were calm, which seemed a bit out of tune with the warm and festive atmosphere around him.
"Who is that?"
"I've never seen him before...why are you standing so close to the front?"
"Minister Chen didn't come. Could it be that he..."
The reporters were whispering, keenly aware that this might be big news, and they all turned their cameras to the young man, Li Kuanyue, who was appearing at such a high-level event for the first time.
After a brief photo and interview session, the group was led to a temporary VIP lounge with a sunshade next to the pier.
Yangon, located at 16 degrees north latitude, has a tropical monsoon climate. Even if you are just staying there for a short time, beads of sweat will appear on your forehead.
He naturally took out a white handkerchief and wiped it.
Almost at the same time, the uniformed waiter standing nearby immediately and quietly brought out iced herbal tea and a wrung-out hot towel.
Everyone sat down and took a short rest.
As the protagonist, the factory director Li Zhenbang began to introduce today's protagonist in detail to Zhang Chi and other superiors - the huge ship that was covered in red and decorated with colorful ribbons and lay quietly on the slipway.
"Commander-in-Chief, officers," Li Zhenbang pointed at the massive ship outside the window, his voice filled with pride. "This 10,000-ton ship was designed entirely independently by our own engineers at Nanyang, with the dedicated assistance of our advisors, Luigi and Giuseppe."
"We adopted the most advanced segmented shipbuilding method inherited from White Eagle, using extensive welding technology and reducing traditional riveting.
Although the weld quality may not be as good as that of the White Eagle master for the time being, it definitely meets the requirements for safe navigation."
Zhang Chi felt deeply moved when he heard this.
Today, White Eagle has the largest and most experienced industrial workers in the world.
Who could have imagined that just a few decades later, White Eagle would have deindustrialized to that extent?
"From the time the keel was laid to the launch today, it took a total of six months."
Zhang Chi was the first to applaud, and the people around him immediately followed suit.
"Although it's still a far cry from the 42-day pace of building a 'Liberty Ship' during the White Eagle War, as our first 10,000-ton ship in the South China Sea, I'm already very satisfied with this speed."
Li Zhenbang then reported a series of data:
"The empty displacement is 6750 tons, fully loaded is 16750 tons, and the deadweight capacity is exactly 10000 tons."
"The power is a complete set of oil-fired boilers and triple-expansion steam engines imported from White Eagle, with an output of 2500 horsepower and a designed speed of 11 to 11.5 knots."
"Its endurance reaches 21500 nautical miles, more than enough for a round trip across the Pacific Ocean."
He also specifically mentioned the improvements made to adapt to the characteristics of Nanyang:
"Considering the heat here, we've optimized the ventilation in the crew cabins and even installed our own air conditioners in the officers' cabins."
"Taking into account the incomplete facilities at many of our ports, we have increased the number of booms and light cranes to facilitate loading and unloading."
"Below the waterline, we've used a self-developed, more effective antifouling paint specifically designed to combat tropical shipworms."
Zhang Chi listened carefully and nodded from time to time.
After listening to the introduction, he asked, "Director Li, I remember you're also working on a distant-water fishing vessel project. How's that progressing?"
"Live by the mountains, live by the mountains; live by the sea, live by the sea. Our South China Sea coastline is long, and the future development of marine resources is inseparable from high-performance fishing vessels."
Li Zhenbang immediately replied: "The commander-in-chief is right."
Then he asked the staff to bring another set of drawings for display.
"This is the 'Nanyang-1000' ocean-going fishing vessel we designed. The prototype was based on the White Eagle's 'B-type' naval trawler, and its structure is very solid.
The ship will have a fully welded steel hull and will be powered by an imported GM278A White Eagle diesel engine with approximately 1000 horsepower, making it more suitable for fishing vessels than steam engines.
He highlighted its core features:
“The most important thing is that we designed it with a strong refrigeration capacity, equipped with an ammonia absorption refrigeration unit specially manufactured by Yangon’s first home appliance manufacturing plant, and a large refrigerated fish hold.
It can process and freeze the fish caught at sea, which is equivalent to a small offshore processing plant."