Chapter 369 We seem to be stranded
After the second application was approved, the "Calysop" finally left the pilot station and entered the Bosphorus Strait.
The busiest person on the ship now is Chen Cheng.
The captain's job is really not to drive the ship. There is a reason why he is the highest paid person on the ship.
For example, if he wants to pass through a strait, he needs to conduct various ship inspections, such as whether the engine is working properly and whether it is in manual operation; whether the radar is working properly; whether all displays on the bridge such as the main engine speed and steering gear can work properly and provide sufficient lighting; whether the lighting and whistle equipment are normal; whether the VHF communication is normal; whether the crew is on standby, whether the anchor winch and cables are available, etc. Dozens of inspection tasks need to be recorded in the navigation log.
After watching Chen Cheng finish his work, Xiao Peng smiled and said, "Chen Cheng, isn't your worry a bit unnecessary?"
Chen Cheng shook his head. "Boss, the Bosphorus Strait is narrow and short. Even if they were to attack, they wouldn't do it here. If our ships blocked the waterway, it would be more trouble than good."
The Turkish Straits are known as the "throat of the world". The Bosphorus Strait on the north side is too narrow, with the narrowest part being only 700 meters. It sounds very wide, but considering factors such as the seabed topography, the channel for ships is actually very narrow. When the "Varyag" passed through here, it was controlled and turned into a "one-way channel", and other ships could not pass through at all. If you really need to make a temporary anchorage in the strait, you can only anchor in a special anchorage. Overtaking is not allowed when passing here, you must speed and follow the tugboat honestly.
In fact, crossing the strait is a very troublesome thing. First of all, you have to make the first application for an appointment, that is, apply for passage and pilotage 24 hours in advance. At this time, you have to report your ship name, call sign, nationality and port of registration, ship tonnage, speed, cargo on board, ship size and model, etc. to the Turkish side in detail. Therefore, it is impossible for Turkey not to know that Xiao Peng and his team came out of the Black Sea, and it is impossible for them to sneak away.
It’s no wonder that Chen Cheng is so cautious. Now they feel like they are at the mercy of others.
Hua Chong, sitting by the porthole, suddenly asked, "Is it my imagination or something? Why are the cliffs on both sides so much higher?"
"What did you say?" Xiao Peng didn't listen to Qinghua Chong's words.
Hua Chong pointed out the window and said, "Boss, the last time we passed through the Bosphorus, the cliffs on both sides weren't this high, right? We couldn't see many of Istanbul's buildings!"
Xiao Peng was stunned and stretched his head to take a look. He said in surprise, "Oh? If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have noticed. It really is like this."
Chen Cheng frowned slightly after hearing this, and went to a monitor in front of the control console to operate it. After a while, he looked up and said to Xiao Peng, "Today is a day of high tide in the Turkish Strait. On this day, the sea level will drop to the lowest."
Hua Chong was stunned after hearing this, and then asked: "Does this also mean it is the most dangerous?"
He then began to consult the pilot about the problem in English.
The pilot waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, this is normal for us. The tide hasn't reached its lowest point yet. When it does in two hours, it will be seven or eight meters lower than this!"
"Seven or eight meters? So low?" Chen Cheng exclaimed in amazement.
Yinshui nodded. "It's a rare natural phenomenon, isn't it? Nature is amazing. Only during these few days and only here can we see such a rare sight every year."
Xiao Peng nodded after hearing this: "Nature is indeed amazing."
But Chen Cheng became even more nervous after hearing this. They were not familiar with the hydrological conditions of the Bosphorus Strait, and he would definitely be even more nervous when encountering a rare low tide.
What if it runs aground?
Fortunately, what Chen Cheng worried about did not happen. The Bosphorus Strait is not long, only more than 30 kilometers. It takes more than two hours to pass through here at a tugboat speed of ten knots. Next, you only need to go to the pilot station to let the tugboat and pilot disembark, and follow the waterway to the pilot station on the other side of the Marmara Sea to find a new pilot and tugboat to cross the Dardanelles. Then you will be completely out of the clutches of Turkey.
But what the pilot said was right. The tide here was still receding. By the time they left the Bosphorus Strait, the color of the rocks on the shore clearly showed that the tide had fallen to a level that was normally unreachable.
After Xiao Peng was sure everything was alright, he was about to return to the cabin to continue playing the game console when Chen Cheng's face suddenly changed: "Boss, something's wrong!"
"What's wrong?" Xiao Peng stopped and asked.
Chen Cheng exclaimed, "This is not the channel to the pilot station! The pilot station is on the south side, this is along the north side! Pilot station! What's going on?"
The pilot waved his hand after hearing this and said, "Don't be nervous. The tide is receding too much today. If we go directly south, we'll easily run aground. So we have to go around to the north. Originally, it would be no problem for you to sail here on your own, but today our Turkish Mediterranean Fleet ships are entering the Black Sea to conduct joint military exercises with the Turkish Black Sea Fleet. We are going this way to make way for the warships. You are not familiar with the waterway here. If you clash with the warships, it will not be good."
Xiao Peng and Chen Cheng looked at each other. The answer about diverting water did not seem to be a problem. It seemed that they were too suspicious. It was not their fault. They were really scared by the means used by Türkiye.
"Chen Cheng, you stay here and keep an eye on it. I'm going back to my room." Xiao Peng said.
“Okay, boss!”
All Xiao Peng is thinking about now is the Turkish warships.
They're not moving the fleet from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea just for those sunken ships, are they? Holy crap, are they going to start a war? They're truly the new generation of Tsars and Sultans...
But this is just a thought. How could two such large countries start a war so easily? It should be to deter each other.
I really don't understand what kind of weird relationship these two countries have.
Xiao Peng returned to his room, lay on the sofa, turned on his game console, and continued playing. Ka Xin also ran over to his side and watched him play the game with great interest. However, they hadn't played for long when the ship suddenly shook violently! Xiao Peng, who was lying on the sofa, rolled directly to the ground. Ka Xin was even worse off, flying out and hitting the wall.
"Bada! What happened?" Xiao Peng got up from the ground: "Did we hit a rock?"
Kasim got up from the ground and rubbed his head. "That shouldn't be possible. Don't we have an experienced pilot on board?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the cabin suddenly began to tilt, and the things in the cabin were scattered all over the floor. Fortunately, the tilt was not too exaggerated.
"Boss, I hope this is just my illusion, but... I really suspect that our current situation seems to be... stranded!"
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