50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 495 Do you want to drive a 10,000-ton ship?
Before the captain could figure out the cause of the malfunction, Sun Zhiwei didn't want to waste time and gave the answer directly.

"If there are no faults anywhere, but the ship's speed has dropped significantly, then the problem must be with the propeller."

"Captain, you can have someone thoroughly inspect the propeller blades."

The captain found Sun Zhiwei's assessment very reasonable and immediately ordered the crew in the aft cabin to conduct an inspection.

Soon, feedback came back, and the crew saw the damaged propeller at the stern of the ship.

In fact, damage to the propeller blades only causes a decrease in ship speed, but it is not a fatal injury.

As long as the shaft doesn't malfunction, the two blades can still run, at most they won't run fast, but they can still sail at a slow speed.

However, they are currently in a storm zone, and the damage to the propeller will significantly reduce the ship's maneuverability.

In a storm, this situation is very dangerous; when sailing, there is no time to avoid reefs.

Fortunately, they had now approached a small island where the waves were calmer than before, giving them more time to think of a solution.

The people on the ship brainstormed, but after discussing for a long time, they still couldn't come up with a safe solution. The only remaining idea was to hide on the island.

But this small island is only a dozen meters high and a few hundred meters in diameter, and it is completely bare without a single plant.

It can help with light winds and waves, but it's not very effective against typhoons, and ships are more likely to run aground if they get too close.

Especially for a ship as large as the Melbourne, once it runs aground, it's difficult for tugboats to bring it back.

As the waves grew larger, everyone became anxious. Just then, Sun Zhiwei spoke up.

"Captain, would you like to try what it's like to pilot a 2-ton ship?"

The captain was stunned by Sun Zhiwei's words: "You mean the Melbourne?"

"Captain, which is more likely to withstand the wind and waves, your tugboat or the Melbourne?"

“Mr. James, isn’t it obvious? Of course it’s the Melbourne. The bigger the ship, the more stable it is.”

"Then why don't we transfer to the Melbourne?"

"But, but wasn't it dismantled?" The captain thought Sun Zhiwei was joking.

"Only some cannons were dismantled; the rest of the equipment is intact."

"What about the fuel? How much fuel do I have on this tugboat? It's not nearly enough to start the Melbourne."

"There's no need to siphon fuel from the tugboats; the Melbourne has fuel in its tanks."

"They actually left all the fuel for you?" The captain thought the Australian Navy's logistics department was a bit clueless.

But this was actually agreed upon by both parties. Sun Zhiwei would allocate most of the funding to them, and these fuels would naturally be left to him to subsidize the cost of dismantling the ship.

"Why not? Fuel is so expensive. Once we get there, I can extract it and sell it to recoup some of my costs, and it's also a precaution."

"See, this is where it comes in handy."

"So, the Melbourne can actually sail on its own, right?"

“Absolutely right, Captain.”

"But why did you hire a tugboat?"

"Ah, Captain, I don't know if you've heard of the rumors about the 'Disaster Carrier'."

"Of course, could the Melbourne be that one?" The captain looked at the Melbourne behind him in disbelief. "Yes, that's it. I can't find any crew in the port. Nobody wants to pilot a 'disaster carrier'."

"Captain, I wonder if you have the courage to give it a try."

The captain took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. Then he stared silently at the Melbourne, his mind racing with thoughts.

The waves are getting bigger and bigger, almost reaching level 12. If it weren't for the island and the Melbourne blocking our way, the tugboat might not even be able to stand still.

The tugboat is small in tonnage. Although it was said at the time of purchase that it could withstand winds up to level 12, can the buyer's words be trusted? This tugboat may not be able to withstand strong winds. In addition, the risk is even greater due to the damage to the propeller on board.

But when he looked at the Melbourne again, it stood firm as a rock in the storm.

Soon, the captain made up his mind. He immediately convened a meeting of the main crew members, intending to persuade them to agree to his plan.

Although he is the captain of the ship, he still needs to listen to the opinions of the main crew members, especially for such an important decision. If everyone cannot work together, there will be big problems.

Sun Zhiwei also attended the meeting, where he was mainly responsible for introducing the Melbourne.

When everyone heard that the Melbourne used the same type of steam turbine as the tugboat, they all beamed with joy.

After all, it's definitely easier and faster to get started with operating the same model of equipment than to become familiar with a new one.

This news became the final straw. The main crew of the tugboat quickly reached a consensus and decided to move the vessel, allowing the Melbourne to tow the tugboat forward.

The crew of this tugboat is highly qualified, and once the captain makes a decision, they can always carry it out quickly and effectively.

Soon, hundreds of crew members boarded small boats, braving the wind and waves, and approached the Melbourne downwind, quickly boarding the ship.

Sun Zhiwei also boarded the Melbourne with them.

Although the Melbourne has a lot of rust on its hull and deck, its internal equipment is actually still intact. Just over a month ago, the naval sailors were still maintaining it every day.

These rust spots only appeared in the last month because no one has taken care of them. They are just a thin layer on the surface. If you polish them with tools and apply some paint, they will look brand new very quickly.

With the sailors in place, the Melbourne's two steam turbines started up again, and the powerful 4 horsepower excited the crew.

The captain came to the bridge, looked excitedly at the entire aircraft carrier, and then shouted into the microphone to the whole ship: "Guys, what do you think of this 2-ton behemoth?"

"That's awesome, Captain."

"This is the captain we want."

"We like it."

"If you like it, that's good. Everyone should get to know it well, and we'll get a ship this big next time." As soon as the captain drew up his promise, the sailors cheered.

A thousand-ton ship and a ten-thousand-ton ship are two completely different species and cannot be compared at all. Once the crew gets used to driving a large ship, they will probably find it difficult to adapt when they return to a small ship.

Two hours later, the Melbourne was fully tested and all its main functions were working properly.

Because of a shortage of manpower, many of their devices were not turned on, but they did not need to turn on all of them.

For example, those two target detection radars, one for detecting the sky and the other for detecting the sea surface, are entirely for dealing with aircraft and warships, and there is absolutely no need to turn them on now.

They only needed to turn on the ship's regular navigation radar; it wasn't like they were going to war.

Once the Melbourne had warmed up, several steel cables towed the ocean-going tugboat far behind, and the engine room started up at full power to set off again.

(End of this chapter)