Chapter 522: The Subversive Industrial Revolution (Fourth update, please subscribe)
With the whistle blowing, an empty merchant ship slowly sailed into Taiping Bay.
What is different from usual is that when the merchant ship "Jinyi" was pushed to the port by a tugboat, many people were watching it, including dock workers and shipping company executives. There were even cameramen carrying movie cameras.
Today’s protagonist seems to be the ship that looks a little weird this week.
What is so different about this ship? Except for the few shelves on the ship, it seems that there is no difference.
Of course, in the eyes of many people, this is just a ship, nothing serious.
Master Ren was among the crowd, with his hands on his waist and a cigarette in his mouth. Looking at the people around him, he muttered in his heart.
“It’s not a big day, so why are there so many big shots?”
In fact, the people are not big, just some executives of the Borneo Shipping Company, but these people at the dock are definitely big shots. The big shot in.
As they gathered together today, something big was definitely going to happen.
Alberto, the general manager of the Borneo Shipping Company, turned his head from time to time to communicate with the engineer beside him.
“Just by looking at the appearance, it’s almost unrecognizable as a free wheel,”
Alberto pointed at the “Jinyi Hao” and smiled. This ship is actually an old ship, an old ship converted from a freewheeler, but now it has completely changed its appearance. Even Alberto, who was very familiar with the Freewheel, almost didn't recognize it.
“Yes, Mr. General Manager, in order to meet the company’s requirements, we have made necessary modifications to the ship, widening the hull and enlarging the hatch to facilitate the entry and exit of containers. At the same time, additional installations have been made in the cabin. Metal guide rails facilitate container operation and reinforcement. At the same time, the deck crane was removed and a new crane was installed. The renovated "Jinyi" can carry a total of 365 standard containers. The width was widened to 20 meters..."
The engineer's explanation seemed very relaxed, but in fact it was not easy at all when they remodeled the ship. After all, except for the hull, everything was rebuilt designed.
It is precisely for this reason that the entire project has been delayed again and again, and finally has been delayed until now. It's not because the modification is too difficult, but because it involves too many technical issues.
Listening to the engineer’s explanation, Alberto smiled.
“It’s normal to go to war in such a big way and not recognize it.”
Container ship is not just a ship. Ever since His Majesty proposed the concept last year, the Borneo Shipping Company has set up a special team , researching containers, they designed a 20-foot container according to the ship's specifications, using thick and strong high-strength steel columns to support multi-layer stacking. It is not only necessary to design the container guide rails and locks in the cabin, but also to improve the trailer chassis and install locks with guide plates to facilitate the placement and fixation of containers.
It is precisely because of this series of technical problems that need to be solved. Therefore, the entire project has been postponed until now, and the first trial voyage has only begun.
"What if there are no cranes in the port?"
"Ship-mounted gantry cranes can be used for operations, which eliminates the dependence on port facilities."
It is also one of their pioneering achievements. It can be said that these engineers have noticed the advantages of containers from the beginning, and also noticed the disadvantages of containers - heavy reliance on port equipment, but not every port has complete lifting equipment.
That’s why they developed this kind of container ship with its own loading and unloading equipment, thus fundamentally solving the container ship’s dependence on port equipment.
When the engineer introduced it, the ship-borne gantry crane of the "Jinyi" had slowly opened.
"General Manager, you see, we have installed the guide rails of the gantry crane on the ship, and the four legs are all movable on the ship. The extensions on both sides can be folded to ensure safety during navigation, and can be opened when loading and unloading at the port. The extended part is used for container loading and unloading. This is specially developed by us for the purpose of considering that ports in various countries do not have special equipment. With it, our "Jinyi" does not need to rely on port equipment."
The engineers were full of pride when introducing their inventions and innovations. After all, the company only asked them to modify a ship. They could simply complete the tasks delivered by the company, but they approached it from an angle. Consider researching and providing the final answer to the problem.
Of course, during this process, the company never urged them, nor did they urge the progress of the project.
In fact, this is the reason why Nanyang’s scientific research environment is very superior, because all the research here is not for public welfare. Even if it is for utilitarian purposes, there will never be any official intervention. Ask them to speed up the process.
Because, here we always pay attention to the principle that science belongs to science and management belongs to management. In terms of technology, they are always experts. Scholars and technicians have the final say. As for others, they only need to provide logistical services.
As people watched, a trailer drove under the gantry crane of the "Jinyi", and then the gantry crane lowered the spreader - this is a semi-automatic spreader designed by Nanyang patent, which can lift containers and carry them onto the ship without manpower. Lift a standard container into the air and load it onto the ship. Containers were being hoisted onto the ship at the turn of trailer after trailer. Alberto and the executives of the shipping company all fell into silence as they watched containers being hoisted onto the ship every minute. .
“A container carries an average of 15 tons of cargo. Although it only contains more than 5,000 tons of cargo, the loading time...”
“Only a few at most. Hours!”
“Oh my God, it would take at least five or six days to load a shipment, and it would require hundreds of workers...”
And now?
Not a single dock worker participated in the whole process.
Compared with the excitement of the shipping company executives, Master Ren was still smoking when he witnessed all this. The scene in front of him did not make him feel any shock. For him, this was It was just an ordinary day on the dock.
A few hours later, after loading the last container, the "Jinyi" slowly set off. It would arrive at the port on the same day and leave the port on the same day. In the past, this was almost unimaginable.
……
"...the "Jinyi" cargo ship uses its own gantry door to lift the containers on the dock onto the ship and place them at fixed points on the deck. Each box takes an average of 3 minutes, and a total of 365 containers are lifted. There is no pier in the whole process Workers participated in transporting goods onto the ship. Six days after setting off from Chang'an Port, the first trial voyage was a complete success." When the trial voyage of the "Jinyi" was successful, Alberto still seemed a little excited.
"It is estimated that the cost per ton of goods transported by the "Jinyi" is only 0.16 yuan, while other bulk carriers cost 5.8 yuan to transport one ton of materials, a difference of 36 times. Your Majesty, do you believe it? It's a whole The difference is 36 times, do you know what this means? It’s a revolution!”
Alberto’s tone seemed a little excited, and he almost spit.
"It is a revolution in maritime transportation. It not only greatly reduces transportation costs, but also speeds up transportation. The "Jinyi" only parked in Dongning for one day before loading the goods and setting off back. It took only 13 days for the round trip to Chang'an. According to calculations, on this route, the "Jinyi" can make 24 trips to and from Chang'an and Dongning a year, while the previously used bulk ship could hardly travel 12 times a year. times.”
Taking a deep breath, Alberto said.
"We have added a ship out of thin air! Your Excellency, this is just one ship. Soon, we will improve more ships."
Compared to Alberto's Calm, but Li Yian seemed very calm. He already knew the result.
The thirty-six-fold cost difference is enough to drive shipping companies crazy!
Looking through the information on "Jin Yi Hao", Li Yian said.
"Well, it's not easy for engineers to design a ship-mounted gantry crane. With it, there is no need to rely on the port's special equipment. However, from the perspective of future development, it is still necessary to design a new type of shore crane. This is between you and the port. And the manufacturing department, let’s discuss it. Special container ships and special ports are the real future.”
As he said this, Li Yian admired the engineers’ wonderful ideas in his heart. After all, when container ships were first popularized, the biggest problem was the shortage of terminal loading and unloading equipment, and ships with their own gantry cranes had unparalleled advantages in the early stages of container transportation. However, with the rise of container transportation and the increase in terminal loading and unloading equipment, it was eventually eliminated.
As the proposer of the container concept, after pointing out the importance of building a dedicated port, Li Yian thought for a moment and then said.
“Also, the company needs to hire professionals for overall planning. For the data analysis of the company’s past voyages, this can be done with the help of the Changxiang 103 electronic computer, from terminal loading and unloading, route calls, trunk and branch lines Proportional and other overall operation models are used for simulation calculations..."
The reason why Li Yian mentioned electronic computers is to popularize the application of electronic computers. Although electronic computers have been widely used in Nanyang, they continue to expand A few uses will only advance its development.
Alberto naturally agreed to your Excellency's instructions without thinking. He is a good expert in maritime transportation organization and shipping management, but the person in front of him... is a revolutionary, a man who started a revolution in maritime transportation. Revolutionary. Naturally, you have to obey his suggestions.
"Revolution..."
Looking at the photo of the "Jinyi" sailing in the information, Li Yian said to himself.
"This is revolution in the true sense..."
(End of this chapter)