Chapter 246 A more advanced ship is docked at Piraeus Port

Xiao Peng's first reaction was: "Brother Chen, are you drunk? How can you get this drunk just by drinking tea?"

"What's wrong?" Chen Zetao asked in confusion.

Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "Brother Chen, I won't hide it from you. I'm rich now, probably a little over 100 million. But how much money can I use to build a deep-sea salvage vessel? It'll cost over 3 million a year if it sits there unused, and over 100,000 a day at sea! And those are all euros! This industry makes a lot of money, but it costs even more! Besides, over 100 million euros for a deep-sea salvage vessel? I might not even be able to buy the bow of the ship!"

"Then why don't you buy it in China?" Chen Zetao asked puzzledly.

Xiao Peng blinked. "Brother Chen...are you kidding me? Is this thing sold in China?"

Chen Zetao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Brother Xiao, I have something to say to you. What was the name of that Singaporean offshore engineering company you just mentioned?"

Xiao Peng said: "Ultra-deep sea solutions company."

"Right, right, right! That's the lousy name! So long!" Chen Zetao asked, "Is this company famous for participating in the F-35 salvage operation?"

Xiao Peng nodded.

An F-35 fighter jet crashed into the sea in Japan, sending the US into a tailspin. After all, the crash contained military secrets. The US then directly participated in the F-35's search and recovery operation, a rare example of cooperation between the two countries.

The deep-sea salvage vessel sent by the United States this time is called the "Van Gogh". This ship is not a ship in the US military system, but is leased from Singapore's "Ultra Deep Sea Solutions Company".

Chen Zetao laughed and said, "That 'Ultra Deep Sea Solutions Company' has a total of five deep-sea salvage vessels, four in addition to the 'Van Gogh.' All five were built in China, and another is currently under construction there. Honestly, China is now among the world's top companies in terms of offshore vessels, and the prices are still affordable."

Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "Boss, even if the price is cheap, I can't afford it!"

"No, you can afford it!" Chen Zetao said, "I'll definitely give you a very favorable price!"

Xiao Peng continued to shake his head: "Even if I can afford it, I can't afford to keep it!"

He was not joking. At that time, he had considered ways to salvage the "Ansaldo" and naturally learned about the deep-sea salvage ships of several marine engineering companies in the world.

The Singaporean vessels are undoubtedly the most suitable. Designed by the Norwegian firm Marin Teknikk, they are 111 meters long, 23 meters wide, have a draft of seven meters, a maximum speed of fourteen knots, and can accommodate 120 people. They feature a 150-ton crane with an operating depth of three thousand meters and a 10-ton crane with an operating depth of three hundred meters. A helicopter landing platform is located above the cockpit, allowing them to carry ROVs, HOVs, AUVs, and even a saturation diving support module.

This is undoubtedly the most advanced deep-sea salvage vessel in the world.

Xiao Peng really didn't know that such an awesome deep-sea salvage ship was made in China.

But even if it was made in China, what would it matter? Xiao Peng still couldn't afford it, and even if he could, he couldn't afford to maintain it!

A boat with a capacity of 120 people requires at least 80 people to operate, and a day's wages start at 30,000 euros. And with a boat this size? One gas pedal and your Rolls-Royce is gone! Add in depreciation, maintenance, and tool wear, and a day at sea costs at least 100,000 euros. Even if it's docked, a boat of this length won't cost just 10,000 euros a day!

Owning such a large ship is certainly a pleasure, but Xiao Peng is not a consumerist. He always makes his fortune according to his own ability. Unless he has a money-printing machine, he would not consider buying such a ship.

Chen Zetao suddenly asked Xiao Peng, "Xiao Peng, do you know the Port of Piraeus in Greece?"

Xiao Peng laughed. "Come on, how could I not know? At the time, some people in France protested this, saying Greece had 'sold out Europe' and wanted to expel them from the EU. But in the end, the matter was dropped. They just kept making money!"

The 2008 financial crisis swept the world, and the most affected country in Europe was Greece. The country's GDP continued to shrink, reaching a peak of 26%.

The Port of Piraeus is only eight kilometers from Athens, the capital. During the Greek-Persian War of 500 BC, it was one of Greece's most important ports. After the war, it became Greece's largest port. However, due to the economic downturn, the port's equipment is severely outdated and inefficient, lacking maintenance. Trucks trying to pick up cargo here face a minimum six-hour wait.

Later it almost became an "abandoned port", with a loss of tens of millions of euros every year. As the largest port in Greece, its annual throughput was only 880,000 containers.

What does this mean? This figure wouldn't even rank in the top 40 in China! The Shanghai port alone handles 50 times as many containers as the Port of Piraeus annually! If we calculate total cargo throughput, Zhoushan Port handles nearly 100 times as much!

Finally, Greece had no choice but to seek help from China and signed a 35-year franchise agreement with China COSCO Group, handing over the No. 2 and No. 3 container terminals of Piraeus Port to COSCO Group for management. In 2016, Greece simply sold 67% of the shares of the entire Piraeus Port to COSCO Group, handing over the full control of Piraeus Port to COSCO Group.

This incident caused an uproar across Europe, with some saying that Greece had "betrayed the EU", but the Greek side was extremely happy.

Why are you happy? Because you make money!

The Port of Piraeus now handles 5.8 million standard containers annually, and the world's major shipping companies now call at Piraeus on nearly 50 routes. Piraeus is now rivaling ports in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy, and with continued development, it has the potential to become Europe's largest port.

Xiao Peng frowned and asked Chen Zetao, "Brother Chen, why are you suddenly talking about Greece? You're going a bit off topic! Wait, don't say anything about the 'Deep Submersible' or the 'Sea Dragon' being parked there. I really don't believe it!"

The Deep Dive and the Sea Dragon are two saturation diving support vessels. While they are saturation diving support vessels, in addition to supporting dual saturation diving, they are also specialized deepwater marine work vessels, integrating saturation diving, deepwater survey operations, ROV operations, subsea construction, outboard crane operations, and marine support. It's no exaggeration to say that these two vessels would rank among the top five marine work vessels on the planet, perhaps even among the best!

Xiao Peng saw these two ships when he visited the National Deep Sea Base. At this stage, they are both "national treasure" level ships.

Chen Zetao took out a cigarette and offered one to Xiao Peng. "These two ships are indeed not in the port of Piraeus... but there is an offshore work vessel with data 50% higher than these two ships, which is parked there."

"Fuck!" Xiao Peng cursed. "China's shipbuilding is going crazy right now!"