Chapter 298 Next Stop, the Black Sea
Chen Zetao was confused. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with the Black Sea?"
Xiao Peng and Fabian looked at each other and laughed. "Brother Chen, it really is like a mountain between two different trades. The Black Sea is actually a 'natural fresh-keeping box'."
Chen Zetao asked in confusion, "Natural fresh-keeping box? What does fresh-keeping mean?"
Xiao Peng pointed to the sea and said, "The Mediterranean is an inland sea, connected to the Atlantic Ocean only by the Strait of Gibraltar. If the Strait of Gibraltar is blocked, the Mediterranean would basically be a lake... Oh, and there's also the Suez Canal. You must know that. Therefore, the Mediterranean, whether in terms of seawater concentration or marine biota, is different from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans."
Chen Zetao nodded: "I know that."
Xiao Peng said, "The Black Sea is an 'inland sea within an inland sea.' Like the Mediterranean, it's surrounded by land on three sides and is only connected to the Mediterranean through the Turkish Straits. Rivers like the Danube, Dnieper, and Dniester all flow into the Black Sea, so the salt content here is much lower than that of the Mediterranean, making it the world's only double-layer sea."
"Double-layer sea?" Chen Zetao asked in confusion, "What does that mean?"
Xiao Peng folded his hands and explained, "Because the salinity of the surface sea is low, a density jump layer forms between the upper and lower water layers. Life exists in the upper water, while the deeper water is severely oxygen-deficient and home to a large number of anaerobic bacteria. Sulfate in the seawater breaks down upon anaerobic bacteria to form highly toxic hydrogen sulfide, which is why in the Black Sea, above 220 meters, there are fish like herring and anchovies, and plants like seaweed. But below 220 meters, there's basically no oxygen, turning the water into a dead sea. Oh, and the name Black Sea is related to this. Because of hydrogen sulfide, the entire deep water appears black, making the Black Sea appear darker than other oceans."
The shipwrecks in the Black Sea have a special feature: due to the lack of oxygen there, the shipwrecks are well preserved. An ocean exploration company once discovered a shipwreck dating back to 500 BC on the bottom of the Black Sea. When it was discovered, even the fish bones that the sailors ate on the deck were intact!
During World War II, the Soviet Union sank the German ship Totila here, taking with it approximately 2,000 German soldiers. A few years ago, a Russian marine research team stumbled upon the ship while conducting an expedition. The bodies inside were still intact, seemingly asleep.
The Black Sea is also a sea with many shipwrecks.
There are hundreds of shipwrecks from Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II alone, and there are even more ancient ships!
However, salvaging shipwrecks in the Black Sea is extremely difficult. Firstly, the seabed there is a low-oxygen environment with hydrogen sulfide, which requires relatively high-tech equipment; in addition...
Two major European powers consider the Black Sea their "backyard." Which two "European powers" are they? Russia and Turkey.
Both countries straddle the Eurasian continent. Russia's claim to be a European power is understandable, given that its economically developed cities are generally located in Europe. But what about Turkey? Even with 5% of its territory in Europe and 95% in Asia, it considers itself European. In any case, in the eyes of Asians, Turkey is European, while in the eyes of Europeans, it is Asian. They dream of joining the EU, but the EU refuses to let them join. They've applied countless times, but each time, they've been rejected.
Türkiye's situation is not surprising. Look at Japan. Although it is a typical Asian country, it dreams of "leaving Asia and joining Europe."
Who doesn’t want to hang out with rich people?
Russia and Turkey, the two bickering rivals, are always at loggerheads over everything and never stand on a united front. Their contention for the Black Sea is even more relentless, leading to constant friction.
The famous "my ship was ordered to sink your ship" incident took place in the Black Sea.
According to the Law of the Sea, the navies of various countries have the "right of innocent passage" in the territorial waters of other countries. This is why foreign warships are often seen strolling around the South China Sea; but at the same time, the countries owning the territorial waters are allowed to restrict the right of innocent passage within the principles of international law. This is why every time a foreign warship comes, it is always followed by a large group of Chinese warships to "escort" it.
But the "world police" America is completely disdainful of this. They haven't signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, yet they demand that other countries allow them the right of "freedom of navigation" and "innocent passage," absolute freedom without announcement, hindrance, or approval. Furthermore, they don't recognize the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea line, only the 3-nautical-mile territorial sea. This is why they often mess around in other countries' territorial waters.
In 1988, a US Navy ship invaded the Black Sea to carry out the so-called "freedom of navigation operation". Two warships directly broke into a position only 7 nautical miles from the port of Sevastopol, and then two former Soviet frigates rushed to the scene and directly collided.
This is the famous "my ship was ordered to sink your ship" incident.
Even though the former Soviet Union sent two small frigates to collide with the American warship, whose tonnage was less than half of that of the American warship, it was the American warship that suffered the most serious damage in the end.
This is thanks to the Carthaginians. In the early days of Carthage's dominance in the Mediterranean, it relied on their triremes to suppress the Roman Empire. The reason why the triremes were "horizontal" was because of the ramming tactics. The former Soviet Union used the ancient "ramming tactics" to hit from the side and rear at 30 degrees. This is the easiest way to cause losses to the opponent and reduce your own losses.
There are many keyboard warriors in China who always bring up this incident to criticize China whenever they see the US Navy causing trouble in the South China Sea.
There is no such thing as a peaceful life in this era. Only people are carrying the burden for you. How do you know that China is not good enough?
The American bully keeps posting photos claiming that the Chinese Navy is "impeding their freedom of navigation." According to the photos they released, the Type 052 destroyer was only 41 meters away from their destroyer, with a 30-degree angle of attack from the side and rear!
That's heading for a collision with a ship!
And what happened after the "my ship was ordered to ram your ship" incident? First, the Soviet Union claimed that the steering gear of its two frigates "simultaneously failed," leading to the collision. A year later, the two countries signed the "Agreement on the Safe Passage of Territorial Waters," stipulating that both navies could pass through each other's territorial waters without notification. And now, Russia refuses to recognize this agreement and continues to ram them.
It can be seen that big countries are all hooligans...
Ahem, that’s a bit off topic!
Anyway, the Black Sea is definitely a treasure trove, but only if you can get in! Now that you have this opportunity, you'd be a fool not to go.
And there is another very important reason why Xiao Peng went to the Black Sea: that is to hide from others.
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