Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 88 - 80: Setting Sail for the First Time!

Han Yu put on a life jacket and climbed up to the second-floor cockpit.

Reporter Wang exchanged a few pleasantries with Xu Sanye, and with Xu Sanye’s permission, he climbed up to the second floor, squeezing into the already cramped cockpit.

Although Han Yu had a license for piloting small vessels, and he had personally maintained and modified this tugboat, he had never actually piloted it.

Without Captain Wang, facing such an emergency situation, he would have never dared to take the boat out on a rescue mission.

Captain Wang was well aware that he was not only to pilot the ship but also to mentor his apprentice.

He simply handed the helm to Han Yu and stood by to give instructions.

"Don’t be nervous, there are no other boats in the lock."

"I know."

"Just steady it, and veer a bit to the left."

"Okay."

...

001, guided by 002, left the pier, turned on the warning lights, sounded the alarm, and slowly entered the ship lock under the watchful eyes of the waiting boat owners and boatmen.

Xu Sanye put on gloves, wore a life jacket, and stood at the bow holding a rope loop.

Liang Xiaoyu held the mooring line at the stern.

Zhu Baogen came out of the engine room, holding a bamboo pole at the starboard side to prevent 001 from hitting the lock wall.

This was the first time 001 was deployed and its first time passing through a lock. While the lock was filling with water, the mooring line was to secure 001 to the bollards on the lock wall.

Li Weiguo was not very reassured and stood on the rear deck of 002, watching 001 moor.

As it turned out, the past week’s practice had not been in vain.

At the right moment, Xu Sanye threw the rope loop and looped it over the bollard in one go, winding the mooring line around the bow’s bollard as taught by Captain Wang.

Liang Xiaoyu was responsible for the stern, gripping the mooring line, tightening and loosening it as necessary.

The water level was rising, making the boat higher, so tying too tightly was not an option.

The ship’s side was bound to hit the lock wall, but several old tires tied to the side acted as a buffer and protection.

All of this seemed very simple, but for those who had never done this work before, it was not easy to learn in just one short week.

In winter, the water level difference between the inland river and the Yangtze River is not significant, and the lock was quickly filled; the southern gate slowly opened.

started its engine and led 001 out of the lock.

Exiting the lock, it was still the Bailong River. 002 moved forward about four or five hundred meters, actually entering the Yangtze River, but it didn’t immediately turn west into the waterway. Instead, it headed east for several hundred meters, turned around on the river surface, and then slowly traveled westward.

"001, 001, there are no boats to the east; you can enter the waterway."

"001 received, 001 received."

Han Yu knew they were concerned about 001’s navigational safety, like a police car clearing the way ahead to help "block traffic". He quickly turned on the signal lights, gently moved the helm, and steered 001 into the main waterway.

Reporter Wang didn’t expect Captain Wang to let such a young kid pilot the ship; he felt a bit scared looking at the rolling river outside.

At this moment, a call came through the intercom.

"Bai Shen calling police 001, Bai Shen calling police 001, please respond if you receive this."

"001 received, please speak, Bai Shen."

"It’s Salted Fish. How long do you need to clear the danger? When can we set sail?"

"Uncle Yao, we’ve just left the lock; we don’t know how long it will take at this moment."

"Hurry up, not only can we not leave, but Bai Wu, Bai Liu also can’t leave, and even the ferries have stopped operating!"

"I know, we will work quickly to resolve the issue."

"Be safe."

"Understood, thank you, Uncle Yao."

Reporter Wang asked curiously, "Comrade Xiao Han, who was calling?"

Han Yu subconsciously looked in the direction of the Bailong Port Passenger Pier and smiled, "It’s Captain Yao from the Bai Shen Passenger Liner. Under normal circumstances, they should set sail punctually at 8:15. But now there’s a dangerous situation, they can’t leave."

"That out-of-control ship is affecting the passenger liner’s navigation?"

"Of course, it affects it. This is the North Branch Channel, not like the main waterway on the south side. Here, the water is shallow, the channel is narrow, and little ships like 002 are afraid of the wind and waves. Big ships like Bai Shen have difficulty turning around; in the face of dangers, it is hard to dodge and might result in a collision or even stranding."

Han Yu paused, then emphasized, "There are thousands of passengers on the passenger ship; they must ensure the safety of the passengers. So, unless the dangerous situation is cleared, the dispatch room at the Bailong Port Passenger Pier won’t let them leave, and they themselves don’t dare to leave lightly."

Reporter Wang thought for a moment, then followed up with a question, "They’re going to the East Sea; why do they have to go west into the main waterway? They could just head east directly and go around Zhuangming Island to Wusong Port."

"If they go east, they will be at the sea, but they are inland river cruise ships, not sea-going vessels. From design to construction, they are built to the standards of inland river vessels, not suitable for maritime navigation."

"Inland rivers are flat-bottomed vessels, and sea-going ships have pointed bottoms," Captain Wang added with a smile.

Reporter Wang realized he had asked a rather amateur question and feeling embarrassed when Xu Sanye shouted from below, "Captain Wang, Salted Fish, speed up! Let’s test our speed and see how fast we can go."

"Yes!"

Han Yu looked down at the radar to confirm there weren’t many boats ahead, lifted his head and said, "Captain Wang, you take the helm, and I’ll go to the engine room to keep an eye on things."

Deployments like this one for 001 were not easy, and both engines were burning money.

For Yanjiang Police Station, piloting time is as precious as flight time for pilots!

Captain Wang did not want to miss this opportunity to practice and, picking up the intercom and patting his shoulder, said, "You take the helm; I’ll go to the engine room."

"Then you need to help me keep an eye on things from below."

"I have a walkie-talkie, I’ll watch for you at the engine room door."

"Thank you, Captain Wang."

Reporter Wang watched Captain Wang leave, then smiled and asked, "Comrade Xiao Han, are you a bit nervous?"

Han Yu, steering the wheel, replied with an embarrassed face, "A little, after all, this is my first time piloting 001."

"First time!"

"Yeah."

"..."

The wind was strong on the river, and Reporter Wang was already shivering with cold.

Learning that this was the kid’s first time sailing, he felt even colder than before.

Unaware of having frightened the veteran reporter, Han Yu gently maneuvered the rudder, slowly adjusting the course to head toward the center of the river, increased the horsepower and paid attention to the instruments while driving.

"Captain Wang, is the main engine running properly?"

"The main engine is running smoothly, just drive with confidence."

"That’s good to hear."

Han Yu, holding the walkie-talkie, thought for a moment and asked again, "And the water depth? I don’t even trust the buoys nowadays."

Captain Wang, standing at the engine room door, peeked around, then laughed into the walkie-talkie, "We’re far from the shallows; there’s definitely enough water depth, sail with confidence."

"It would be great to have a depth sounder."

"I’ll ask Director Xu and see if we can find a way to get one."

"Let’s forget it then, it’s too expensive."

Han Yu didn’t dare to chat anymore, focusing entirely on piloting after putting down the walkie-talkie.

The main engine’s speed got faster and faster, as did the vessel’s, reaching sixteen knots on the instruments. Han Yu dared not increase the power further and maintained this speed for cruising.

Reporter Wang, curious, glanced outside and then asked, "Comrade Xiao Han, why don’t you trust the navigation marks?"

"Mainly because we’re too close to the sea entrance, and the waterway undergoes significant seasonal changes. During the flood season, the water level rises quickly and the current is strong, submerging sandbanks and causing buoys to shift position or even drift away. Now it’s the dry season, with shallow waters and lots of sandbanks, plus siltation – a wrong move and we could run aground."

"Don’t the waterway authorities handle this?"

"Of course, the Waterway Section’s engineering vessels often come here for operations. But compared to the forces of nature, human power is ultimately limited. For example, the siltation – the entire Zhuangming Island is the result of silt accumulation, and the Waterway Section can’t dredge it fast enough no matter what they do."

"I heard that in Linghai, Longyong Town has already connected with Zhuangming Island."

"Yes, at this rate of accumulation, I estimate that in another thirty to fifty years, the North Branch Channel won’t be navigable anymore."

...

Chitchatting sporadically, time flew by.

Bailong Port’s patrol boat appeared before them, and looking up, they saw the out-of-control cement ship spinning in circles on the river!

Captain Wang climbed up to the second level, squeezing into the cockpit.

"Salted Fish, Director Xu and the others lack experience, I’ll steer, you go down and check."

"Got it."

"Be careful."

"I know."

Reporter Wang realized that the exciting moment had come, followed Han Yu out of the cockpit, and was shocked to find the wind outside so strong it was hard to stand upright.

Though Xu Sanye was handling an emergency for the first time, he was clear that approaching as it was would be dangerous. Looking up at Han Yu on the second level, he asked, "Salted Fish, what should we do now?"

"We can’t hit it, but it will hit us. We can only stay on alert, wait for the wind to die down a bit, wait for it to stabilize slightly, and then move closer."

"Sounds good. Check the radar to see if there are any other ships around."

"Captain Wang can understand it. Director Xu, why don’t you come up and direct 002 and Bailong Port’s patrol boat? I’ll go down and prepare."

"Okay, you go down first."

Reporter Wang and Master Ding had thought the rescue would be simple. Just steer 001 over, then jump aboard, tie it with a rope, and pull it back.

They did not expect the wind on the river to be so strong and the cement ship to spin crazily in the current and the wake of passing vessels, making a rash approach a sure collision.

Moreover, the cement ship seemed to be empty, with a very shallow draft and high sides, almost level with 001’s second deck.

It was difficult to jump from outside the cabin of 001 to its deck since the cabin was centered on the tugboat, nearly two meters from the ship’s side on the first deck. And with the strong wind on the river, a missed jump could result in a fall.

A fall onto the deck would cause injury.

A fall between the two ships or into the river would be even more unthinkable.

Xu Sanye had no idea what Master Ding was thinking. Squeezing into the cockpit, he directed 002 and the Bailong Port pier’s patrol boat that had arrived first via walkie-talkie, based on radar signals provided by Captain Wang, to alert passing vessels to give way.

thus circled the out-of-control ship, not daring to get too close.

For more than an hour, the out-of-control ship’s posture finally stabilized somewhat, drifting slowly towards the riverbank with the current.

Once grounded, it would be even more troublesome.

Captain Wang didn’t dare wait any longer, one hand on the wheel and the other raising the communicator: "Salted Fish, Xiao Yu, I can only get as close to its stern as possible; you two hurry to the bow to prepare."

The stern wasn’t the side, not so easy to get on!

But now the out-of-control ship was at an angle; if 001 approached its left side, it would collide due to the current and its own inertia. Trying to evade would mean sailing forward and risking beaching on the shallows, which would require others to rescue them.

If they tried to go around and approach its right side, they’d get hit by it.

Realizing that approaching the stern was the only option, Han Yu immediately raised his hand to indicate he understood.