Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 309 - 221 "A Dead Pig Does Not Fear Boiling Water

Chapter 309: Chapter 221 "A Dead Pig Does Not Fear Boiling Water

The river breeze was gentle, and waves continuously lapped against the hull as Luo Wenjiang joined Yang Yong with the Port Patrol Second Team in inspecting the ships anchored in Yingchuan Port Waters.

There were many items on the Port Supervision’s inspection checklist, but the police had a few; they only needed to verify whether the shipmen had Seaman’s Certificates and ID cards and to check whether the crew and the transported goods were suspicious.

As for the enforcement of water firefighting regulations, it was somewhat awkward.

The Port Supervision had considerable authority, but fire safety was just one aspect of it.

They had the right to detain or even confiscate vessels with safety hazards that lacked proper documentation, but they lack coercive measures during enforcement, thus often coming across as not sufficiently deterrent in the eyes of violators, who frequently resisted violently, causing the inspectors to hesitate or refuse to deal with fire safety hazards.

Local Water Police’s enforcement on water firefighting was weak in legal grounds, yet they possessed approval powers.

The cargo ship currently under inspection, carrying flammable and explosive chemicals, had a captain and crew who were entirely ignorant of fire safety knowledge. However, they held valid documents such as permits to transport flammable and explosive chemicals and escorts’ certificates.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that all the certificates were issued by the Firefighting Department of the Water Police Division in their hometown, which issued documents without management; as long as payment was made, certificates were granted without any need for training or examination.

Seeing that the Port Supervision and the police were not leaving, or even returning the documents, the captain got nervous and couldn’t help but take out a cigarette.

Yang Yong was alarmed and scolded him: "You’re smoking? Don’t you know what you’re carrying? Aren’t you afraid of causing an explosion?"

"Oh, I won’t smoke." The captain hurriedly stashed away the cigarette and lighter in his pocket.

Captain Wang of the Port Patrol Second Team looked back and whispered to Xiao Yang, "What do we do now?"

If the other party had no certificates, they could fully assist Port Supervision in dealing with the situation according to the relevant regulations.

But now, the other party had certificates, and they were incredibly comprehensive.

However, it was definitely not okay to leave it unaddressed, as the squad leader took fire safety management very seriously, just like his late master.

In the past three months, there had been three fire safety management training sessions and multiple reports on water fire incidents and chemical spill or explosion accidents.

They even mobilized vessel 001, conducted two fire drills in collaboration with the Water Rescue Center, Port Patrol Second Team, and the Yingchuan Port Lock Management Office.

Even more critical was the increasingly hot weather.

The deck was so hot under the blazing sun that you could fry an egg on it, and the sweltering weather further increased fire safety hazards, with the ship carrying hundreds of tons of dangerous chemicals. Nothing might happen most of the time, but when something did, it would be major!

Yang Yong dared not ignore the situation, turned around to gaze at vessel 001 moored next to the Floating Pier at the Rescue Center, and picked up the walkie-talkie: "Captain Yu, Captain Yu, please respond if you receive."

Captain Wang was sick in the hospital, while Han Yu was busy with Liang Xiaoyu and Zhu Baogen repairing the main engine.

The engine room was as hot as a steaming basket, drenching them in sweat after a bit of work.

Upon hearing the call, Han Yu hurriedly wiped his oily hands with a rag, stood up, and took the walkie-talkie: "Received, what’s the matter?"

Yang Yong briefly reported the situation and, thinking it over, emphasized while wiping sweat: "I’ve checked carefully, those certificates don’t seem fake."

This wasn’t the first time Han Yu had encountered such a situation. He stepped out of the sweltering engine room into the cool command cabin and asked, "Where are the chemicals on the ship going?"

"This batch of chemicals was purchased by the Changzhou Petrochemical Factory and is being transported to a small pier in Changzhou."

"So they are waiting to pass through the locks."

"Yes, but there have been many ships passing through the locks these days, and Captain Wang has inquired with the chief dispatcher at the lock. This chemical ship is scheduled for tomorrow morning."

Han Yu took a binoculars, stepped out of the command cabin onto the second deck to observe the situation at the anchorage on the river, then picked up the walkie-talkie again: "There are too many ships anchored around it, it’s not practical to move others away because of it, so please ask Captain Wang to direct it to a relatively safe waters to anchor."

"Yes!"

"I’m not finished."

Han Yu paused and then continued: "Considering the crew’s complete ignorance of fire safety knowledge, during the waiting period for lock passage, I suggest that Captain Wang arranges for someone to supervise on-site."

Yang Yong looked at Captain Wang, who seemed about to speak but stopped, and reminded, "Captain Yu, on-site supervision means charging a fee for supervising dangerous goods on water."

"The weather is so hot, it can easily lead to explosions, you can’t take it lightly. Charge if it’s due, it’s not a random fee."

"They have certificates!"

"They have certificates, but they don’t understand them. What if something happens?"

Han Yu, overwhelmed by the heat, returned to the cool command cabin and added, "I will contact the Development Zone Transportation Bureau now and request the Development Zone Port Authority to prepare for their supervision after the chemical ship passes through the lock, until it docks and unloads the chemicals."

This ship had encountered a Salted Fish. Although they wouldn’t be fined, the money that had to be paid would not be less.

Thinking of the surveillance fee of three hundred fifty yuan per day for the chemical ships carrying one hundred to three hundred tons of dangerous goods, Yang Yong smiled and said: "Okay, I will have Captain Wang persuade the captain."

"Make it clear to the captain that fire safety is no trivial matter. If he refuses on-site supervision, we will team up with Port Supervision to take coercive measures against them and will detain the certificates they obtained back in their hometown!"

"Understood."

After Xu Sanye left, Salted Fish became a different person.

Using Director Jia’s words, he was decisive and swift, but in Yang Yong’s view, he had inherited Xu Sanye’s "wildness."

Not only was he "wild" in enforcement, but also in handling tasks assigned by superiors.

The funds were very tight up and down this year; the Fishery Administration and Customs no longer sponsored the Water Police Station.

The division was so poor it could barely make ends meet, so they assigned income generation tasks to the various squadrons by law, letting Yingchuan Port Squadron contribute whatever they could. He was adamant not to generate income just for the sake of it.