50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 290 The storm is coming
"I've already told the helmsman to change course and head south, but I'm not sure if we can escape."

How far are we from the storm area now?

"If the storm doesn't move, there are still two days left, but now the storm is approaching us."

"So, at most one day, we will encounter the storm. Now, the 'Eastern Angel' is turning south and approaching the storm, which will extend the time by about 3 hours."

"Could you mark the route on the nautical chart?" Sun Zhiwei asked the captain.

Captain Huo raised his wine glass and said, "Let's go take a look at the nautical chart. Maybe you'll have some new ideas."

The two arrived at a square table in the corner. On the table was a large glass panel, and underneath the glass was a world map.

Captain Huo took out a marker and drew a few strokes on the glass.

"This is the storm's path. It formed in the South Pacific and started as three small cyclones."

"Soon, the three cyclones quickly merged into one, and with Guam as the center, they drew a semicircle 1000 kilometers away, stretching from south of Guam to north of Guam."

"After that, it continued to move in a northeast direction and was about to meet us."

"See? It has been blocking our shipping lane with the 'Tide' for the past three days."

"So, my radio stopped receiving disaster warnings from the 'Tide' three days ago."

"This is the nineteenth typhoon of the year, and its Chinese name is Louise. Your prediction was completely correct."

Captain Huo paused here and looked at Sun Zhiwei.

"To be honest, we might not be able to escape this time."

Sun Zhiwei frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"

“‘Louise’ has a coverage radius of 1000 kilometers and a wind speed of 140 knots. Our ship can only run at 12 knots. How can we possibly escape?”

Captain Huo gave a bitter smile as he said this. If only they had discovered it sooner, but reality doesn't allow for "what ifs."

Facing typhoons head-on is not uncommon for modern cargo ships, but it also depends on the strength of the wind and the ship's performance.

The Eastern Angel had been built and launched fifteen years ago, making it an old ship. Captain Huo was not confident in facing a Category 14 typhoon like Louise.

Hearing this, Sun Zhiwei felt a pang of unease, but he quickly felt relieved.

Because as long as he doesn't die, he can put Professor Meng's entire family into his spatial dimension, so this is just a difficulty for him, but not a dead end.

"Captain Huo, don't be too pessimistic. You're an old sailor and have experienced storms before. This storm is just a bit bigger."

"Let's mobilize everyone and do our best to save ourselves. We'll do our best and leave the rest to fate. God will protect us."

"You're right, I'm getting old and I don't have the drive I used to have. Sailors, battling the wind and waves is our destiny. None of us have ever seen such big storms."

"Mr. Sun, thank you for your encouragement. By the way, do you also believe in the Queen of Heaven?"

"Haha, I just do what the saying goes: whatever mountain I'm on, I'll worship the temple there. If I'm in the mountains, I'll worship the mountain god; if I'm at sea, I'll worship the goddess of the sea."

"Haha, sir, you are so magnanimous. I will go and inform the crew right away. Let's work together to overcome this difficult time."

The sailors were quickly gathered together. Captain Huo first announced the arrival of the typhoon, and then began to assign tasks to all the sailors.

Sun Zhiwei didn't sit idle either; he went to Professor Meng's family and explained the current situation.

“Professor Meng, there is a typhoon passing through our flight path ahead, so it is still a bit dangerous this time. I think that when it gets more serious, you can trust me as you did last time.”

When Sun Zhiwei mentioned something similar to last time, Professor Meng recalled their encounter with the Coast Guard off the coast of Los Angeles. He had said the same thing then, assuring Sun Zhiwei to trust him, and they had indeed escaped unharmed.

It seems that this "Listening" gentleman has some undisclosed methods to ensure the safety of his family.

Having established a foundation of trust before, Professor Meng did not hesitate this time and directly agreed to Sun Zhiwei's suggestion.

“Mr. ‘Diting’, our whole family believes in you.”

"Uncle, are we taking pills again this time?" Professor Meng's daughter, who was usually very well-behaved, suddenly interrupted and asked.

"Yes, little one, just like last time, a good night's sleep and all the danger is gone." Sun Zhiwei smiled and patted the little girl's head.

“Sure, feel free to contact us anytime.” After Professor Meng agreed, Sun Zhiwei left their room.

He was going to help the captain and increase their chances of surviving the storm.

He offered Captain Huo two suggestions:

The first step is to weld all the outer layers of the containers together with electric welding and then reinforce them with steel bars to prevent them from tipping over in strong winds.

If a large number of containers fall into the water, not to mention the loss of cargo, the reduced weight of the ship alone makes it more likely to capsize.

It would be better to connect all the containers together, as this would make them more resistant to wind and waves.

The second measure is to fill all containers loaded with cotton products with water to increase their weight.

Doing this would likely ruin the cotton fabrics in the container, but it would add weight to the ship, which would improve its stability.

Sun Zhiwei has already inspected all the containers on the ship, and there are more than 100 containers filled with cotton.

Even when compressed, cotton is still very light and inexpensive, making it a commodity that can be discarded.

Once these cotton plants are watered, each container will add at least 25 tons of weight, and 100 containers will add 2500 tons.

Adding so much weight to the hull will maximize the stability of the Eastern Angel.

Sun Zhiwei's suggestion was immediately approved by Captain Huo.

"But I don't know which of these containers are filled with cotton fabrics."

Sun Zhiwei then realized that the freight company was unaware of the contents of the container; they were only responsible for delivering the container, and had no responsibility for its contents.

Furthermore, the owner of the container will be held liable for any loss to the cargo ship caused by any accident involving the contents inside.

For example, one of my containers was filled with flammable materials and caught fire en route, burning down other people's containers and damaging the ship's hull.

Then the owner of this container will be responsible for compensating for these losses.

"I know which boxes contain cotton." At this point, Sun Zhiwei didn't care about anything else; he just wanted to get the job done first.

He immediately wrote down the container number containing the cotton fabrics on a piece of white paper on the table.

As for how he knew the contents of those boxes, there are many possible explanations.

Whether it's that Sun Zhiwei secretly drove a container truck, or that his family has an insider at a cargo terminal in Mexico, either of these are possibilities.

However, this is not something Captain Huo should know, and I believe he wouldn't ask about it in detail.

(End of this chapter)