Chapter 248 This is a money-burning industry
Xiao Peng’s complaints are not without reason.
We all know that the ocean is rich in wealth, but why do countries like Spain, Italy and Greece lack deep-sea marine engineering capabilities?
The reason can be simply summed up in three words: "can't afford it."
As for the Mouyi V (engineering manned submersible), this thing is, to put it bluntly, a "money-burning ancestor." From design to development to use, every step requires a huge amount of funds.
Under the long-term technological blockade, China had to build deep-diving technology from scratch, and it took many years just for a "ball".
All submersibles, once their outer shells are removed, are essentially a "ball," or several balls. A spherical shape is the most pressure-resistant, but you can't just find a piece of iron and weld a ball together and dive into the deep sea. Special materials are required.
The first requirement of a working submersible is to ensure the passenger capacity, so the manned cabin must be large. A large manned cabin means that it can withstand greater pressure. At the same time, in order to reduce the burden on the submersible, the cabin cannot be too heavy. In order to withstand the sea pressure, special materials are needed to make a large, light and strong manned cabin.
The materials used in all of Huaxia's HOV spherical cabins are new titanium alloys independently developed. They have high strength and good toughness and are currently the world's top titanium alloy raw materials.
However, it took thousands of tests and continuous optimization to create this raw material from scratch. I'm not bragging, the research and development of this titanium alloy material alone cost billions of funds and a lot of manpower and time!
These HOVs all require batteries, and for efficiency reasons, they all use lithium batteries. However, continuous use of lithium batteries can cause them to overheat and spontaneously combust. To prevent this, Huaxia's HOVs use a battery pack consisting of hundreds of lithium batteries. The spaces between the batteries are filled with oil. If a battery overheats, the heat is transferred to the oil, which then passes through the battery box casing into the seawater, solving the heating problem.
It took several more years to research this technology!
Before a batch of lithium batteries can be installed into battery packs, they must undergo more than ten rigorous safety tests, including impact, puncture, seawater immersion, short circuit, overcharge and over-discharge. They can only be used after passing the tests.
This means another huge sum of money!
Since the core of HOV is a "ball," wouldn't it be enough to just put a "ball" with a person inside and put them into the sea? Why bother with a shell?
Of course not! Because the outer shell of these HOVs also has another function, which is to provide buoyancy.
The outer layer of the HOV is made of buoyancy material, which is composed of thousands of nanometer-sized glass beads. This buoyancy material can provide buoyancy and withstand high pressure. The HOV shell made of this material has extremely high buoyancy, allowing the HOV to float on the sea surface. If you want to dive, you need to fill it with water. Two sets of ballast irons will be installed in the HOV. If the first set of ballast irons is thrown away on the seabed, the HOV can remain suspended, and if the second set of ballast irons is thrown away, it can float naturally.
It will take several more years to develop this buoyancy material!
After successful development, production and testing are required. Even if it's guaranteed to work after each dive, the cost of recharging, refueling, and maintenance, along with reballast iron, is a complex undertaking that won't cost at least 100,000 or 200,000 Euros, which is simply not enough for the next dive! It's not like owning this submersible is free. Add to that the cost of renting a boat, and even though China is known for being cheap, it still costs at least 300,000 Euros a day. More than three months of work means...
Thirty million euros in rent! Who the hell can afford it?
"Who said you're working for free?" Chen Zetao said, "I'm paid!"
"How much?" Xiao Peng became interested!
Chen Zetao said: "Fifty million! Euros!"
Xiao Peng looked disgusted after hearing this: "Brother Chen, 50 million euros sounds like a lot, but have you thought about it? I'll be drifting on the sea for at least three months straight. If I follow my plan, the Dragon Boat will also come over! The cost of the Dragon Boat is not that terrible, starting at 25,000 a day. Let's round it up, that's another 3 million! Including the rental of this ship, let's add up to 35 million! I took such a big risk and earned 15 million in more than three months at sea? The risk I took is not proportional to my income! Besides, I am now a formal ocean exploration company. How can I explain that if you give me money and I want to transfer it? After paying taxes, I will only get a few million. Brother Chen, if it were you, what would you do?"
Chen Zetao didn't even think twice: "I definitely won't do it!"
Xiao Peng wanted to continue but was stunned when he heard Chen Zetao's words: "Huh? Not going to do it?"
Chen Zetao nodded and said, "Of course not! How can I do it with so little money?"
Xiao Peng blinked: "Brother Chen, what do you mean?"
Chen Zetao said, "The country isn't what it used to be. First, we're wealthy, and second, we have a different economic system. We can't let you down, right? Of course, this isn't something we can discuss. Ultimately, it's like this: You have 400 million RMB in your account in China, and that money won't be transferred. You also have to pay the ship rental, since this is a commercial offshore engineering company established in Greece. But China will convert your charter rent into RMB based on the exchange rate and deposit it into your account."
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "They're trying to tie me down in China!"
"What? You want to immigrate?" Chen Zetao asked back.
Xiao Peng shook his head: "I really don't have such an idea."
"Then what are you worried about?" Chen Zetao said, "Just think of it as the government helping you transfer funds! You're so generous!"
Xiao Peng thought about it and said, "Okay, I'll take it!"
Chen Zetao asked, "Everyone on this ship is trustworthy, so you don't have to worry about leaking secrets. When the Mediterranean Support heads to the Ionian Sea, the Mediterranean Support II will go out to help you salvage the items. But as you said, this salvage operation may take several months. How can you salvage the items without anyone noticing?"
Xiao Peng said: "I have planned it a long time ago, but now I also need time."
Chen Zetao asked curiously, "Can you tell me about it?"
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers. If a minister is not discreet, he will lose his dignity. If a few things are not discreet, they will become harmful. But Brother Chen, you have to do me a favor."
"What help?" Chen Zetao asked curiously.
"I'm going back to France to take care of some things. Please ask the relevant personnel to modify the ship before I come back. I remember that the working depth of the winch of 'Exploration No. 2' is three thousand meters. You have to modify the winch of this 'Mediterranean Support No. 2' to four thousand meters! If it can't reach four thousand meters, then at least to three thousand five hundred meters!" Xiao Peng said.
After hearing this, Chen Zetao said, "Don't worry, the winch on the ship has reached a working depth of 5,000 meters. After all, this ship needs to work in conjunction with the 'Deep Sea Warrior', and the 'Deep Sea Warrior' has a diving depth of 4,500 meters. How can this ship operate without the corresponding tools?"
Xiao Peng nodded after hearing this: "Okay, now it's my turn."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
