Chapter 247 I won’t rent it even if you kill me
"Are you crazy?"
This was the first sentence Xiao Peng said when he stood on the shore of Piraeus Port.
Now there is a super huge ship parked in front of him, named "Mediterranean Support". What a crappy name!
However, it is not an exaggeration to describe this ship as a "super giant ship".
The longest ship currently in service in the Greek Navy is the Epirus-class frigate, which, fully loaded, displaces only 3,880 tons and measures 134 meters long and 14.3 meters wide. And the ship before him? It's 177 meters long, 33 meters wide, and can carry 13,000 tons!
Although it was a small vessel compared to the 300-meter-long container ships in the harbor, it was enormous for a working ocean vessel! So large, it was terrifying!
Chen Zetao introduced: "The 'Deep Dive' has a record of 320 meters for saturation diving and 330.2 meters for patrol diving. This vessel has raised our country's saturation diving depth record from 300 meters to 500 meters, and has also expanded its deep-sea operation capability from 3,000 meters to 6,000 meters. It is definitely the best deep-sea work vessel in China today."
Xiao Peng was dumbfounded. "Brother, are you trying to kill me? Are you making this thing because you're afraid others won't know we're trying to salvage the Italian warship? Do you believe that right now there might be someone nearby watching us and taking pictures of us? There might even be a few satellites in the sky watching us closely!"
Chen Zetao nodded: "Of course I believe it!"
"Then why did you bring this thing here?" Xiao Peng widened his eyes in confusion.
Chen Zetao shrugged. "You've been abroad, haven't you? You've forgotten the Thirty-Six Stratagems? 'Openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing Chencang!'"
"Hmm?" Xiao Peng blinked. "What do you mean?"
Chen Zetao said: "Let's go, we can talk while we walk."
Xiao Peng pointed at the large ship and said, "Can't we go aboard and take a look? Even if I can't afford this ship, I should go aboard and take a look, right?"
Chen Zetao said with a smile: "Be careful not to pull your eyes out. Come on, follow me."
Xiao Peng curled his lips and said, "How stingy!"
Chen Zetao handed Xiao Peng a cigarette and lit it. "Do you remember when we were in China and the four nations joined forces with the Mediterranean Ocean Exploration and Research Association to go to the deep-sea submersible base?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Of course. The last time I went to the deep-sea diving base, the representatives looked at me with such a strange expression. It was an expression of love and hate. They wanted to cooperate with me, but they were also unwilling to accept it."
Chen Zetao laughed after hearing this. "All joint organizations have problems. Of this four-nation alliance, only France has the capability for deep-sea exploration, and the other three countries must follow France's lead. But there's a problem: most of the shipwrecks in the Strait of Gibraltar are from Spain and Portugal, while most of the shipwrecks in the Mediterranean are from Greece, Italy, North Africa, and the Middle East."
Xiao Peng nodded in understanding.
After all, France was once an agricultural country, just like China. Although it was rich, it did not value the ocean.
Chen Zetao asked, "So how do we calculate the wealth salvaged from the shipwreck? Will France provide the technology and give them a share of the spoils? The economies of European countries are in recession right now, so no one wants to give away the money they've pocketed, right?"
Xiao Peng nodded: "You are right."
Chen Zetao snapped his fingers. "So this time, the four-nation joint organization went to China, claiming to be conducting an inspection, but in reality, it was also for cooperation, a collaboration that bypassed France. China has now established a commercial offshore engineering company in Greece. To show their sincerity, China's most advanced offshore engineering vessel is moored at the port of Piraeus. There are two vessels here now, and there may be more in the future depending on demand. They proactively asked us to come here."
"Two?" Xiao Peng heard the question hidden in Chen Zetao's words: "What about the other one?"
Chen Zetao stopped and pointed to a white and blue ship moored at the harbor and said, "Isn't that over there?"
"Oh my god, what the hell is this?" Xiao Peng was stunned when he saw the ship.
The ship in front of him was not even half the size of the Mediterranean Support, being more than sixty meters long. But to be honest, this ship was not small either.
"You know the Exploration II, right?" Chen Zetao explained, "It's its sister ship."
Xiao Peng whistled. How could he not know about 'Exploration No. 2'? That's the mothership of 'Struggle'! What is 'Struggle'? China's newly developed manned submersible! It's reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest! It's the only manned submersible in the world capable of diving to 10,000 meters!
Forget about Hollywood director James Cameron's trip to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The submersible he was in was dangling cables like an elevator, going up and down. The interior was so cramped that a five- or six-year-old couldn't even stand up straight. It was nothing like the Endeavour, which was so impressive it could take three people to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, surfaced on its own, and even returned with samples!
Chen Zetao continued to explain, "Of course, this vessel is different from the 'Exploration No. 2.' After all, the 'Exploration No. 2' focused on scientific research and had many scientific laboratories on board, while this vessel is more focused on deep-sea offshore engineering. It's equipped with deep-sea geological winches and CTD winches, a movable gantry crane, high-torque shears, and other equipment. The biggest highlight is: it has an HOV and an ROV on board."
Xiao Peng was stunned: "HOV? Which one?"
HOV is a manned work submersible. China currently has only three of them, namely "Fendo", "Jiaolong" and "Deep Sea Warrior".
"The Jiaolong is now on the Mediterranean Support, and the Deep Sea Warrior is on this ship. The new Jiaolong and Deep Sea Warrior are currently on a domestic research vessel. Didn't you say that our country is producing a lot of goods right now?" Chen Zetao pointed at the ship and said, "Well, with this ship, can you salvage something? Later, the Mediterranean Support will cooperate with Greece to salvage a sixth-century shipwreck between the Gulf of Sirte and the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean. This will also be a demonstration of the technological strength of our offshore vessels. During that time, everyone's attention will be on the Mediterranean Support, and you can rent the ship as a commercial hire. Then, salvage the items without anyone noticing!"
He looked at Xiao Peng with full confidence. He originally thought that Xiao Peng would agree to his request, but to his surprise, Xiao Peng shook his head like a rattle: "Brother Chen, kill me! I will never rent this boat even if you kill me!"
"What's wrong again?" Chen Zetao looked at Xiao Peng a little annoyed.
Xiao Peng blinked. "Brother Chen, let's be frank. Although I'm a Chinese and serving my country is my duty, I'm risking life in prison to get this boat, right? You haven't even discussed my salary yet, and you're letting me rent this boat. Let's not talk about the boat's rental fee, but 200,000 euros for one HOV dive? Brother, do you think I have a lot of money and you're helping me spend it?"
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