CHAPTER 516: CHAPTER 360: FINE MASTER

Chen Zikun’s wife, Meng Hualei, used to work at a veterinary station in a town in the Gangzha District. When Chen Zikun took leave without pay, she also resigned and went to East Sea to help his father with a construction project.

After Chen Zikun returned, she didn’t want to stay alone in East Sea. Last month, with the support of his father and the help of her former colleagues, she opened a shop in Bailong Port specializing in veterinary medicine and chicken feed, resuming her old profession.

By day she managed the shop and looked after her child, and after the sun set, she would return to the dormitory to cook.

Nowadays, at the Bailong Port Passenger Pier, only three passenger routes remain, each with only one ferry a day.

The number of leaders and employees at the pier is dwindling; those who can return to Binjiang Port have done so. Many office spaces and dormitories are vacant. The once bustling dormitory area has become desolate and quiet. And her dormitory with Chen Zikun is located in front of those of Han Yu and Han Xiangning.

Perhaps it’s the loneliness or perhaps it’s because she’s expecting a baby and has grown particularly fond of kids, but as soon as Han Xiangning finishes work, she helps take care of Meng Hualei’s son, Little Junjun.

While watching TV and chatting about whether Little Junjun should attend kindergarten in the city or at Bailong Port next year, Han Yu and Chen Zikun returned in their police car.

"Salted Fish, I thought you went to the sub-branch. Why are you back with Instructor Chen?" she asked.

"I went to check on a dunship."

Han Yu bent down to play with Little Junjun who came running out—this little rascal is just as mischievous as Dongdong was at his age, always loving to sit in the police car.

Looking at the clothes he was wearing, Han Xiangning asked curiously, "Why are you wearing our department’s uniform? Where is your police uniform?"

"The police uniform is in the car."

Realizing he had forgotten to change clothes, Han Yu opened the car door to take out his uniform and explained why he had returned so late.

Han Xiangning couldn’t believe it was true and asked in astonishment, "That flag of convenience not only has major flaws, but the captain and crew might also be using fake certificates?"

"Exactly, the issue is quite serious and the ship has been detained," said Han Yu with a smile.

Meng Hualei didn’t understand all this and asked curiously, "Ningning, what is a flag of convenience?"

"It’s when you don’t register the ship in your own country but in another country instead, and you don’t fly your own country’s flag, but the flag of the country where it’s registered," explained Han Xiangning.

"Why would your own country’s ship register in another country?"

"To save money and for convenience. Some countries, especially smaller ones, have low registration fees and taxes, don’t levy income tax on foreign ship companies and shareholders, don’t impose restrictions on crew employment, and don’t interfere with the management and operation of the ships. That’s why one third of the world’s merchant ships fly flags of convenience."

Meng Hualei thought about it and then murmured, "If even the captain’s certificate could be fake, what are those shipowners and shareholders thinking, daring to let a fake captain navigate a ship?"

Chen Zikun turned to look at the silently smiling Han Yu and said, "Hualei, a captain doesn’t necessarily have to navigate the ship."

"A captain doesn’t navigate?"

"The captain is in charge of the ship, responsible for everything. It’s impossible for them to do everything personally."

"Then who navigates the ship? The chief officer?"

"It seems the chief officer doesn’t need to navigate either. Director Yu, am I right?"

Han Yu smiled and patiently explained, "On most ocean-going cargo ships, the chief officer is usually in charge of cargo stowage, loading, unloading, handover, and other transportation management tasks, as well as the maintenance of the deck department’s equipment."

Meng Hualei continued to inquire, "What about the second officer?"

"Actually, the captain also has to stand watches during navigation. The main duty of the second officer is to stand watch during navigation and berthing, and to manage the steering equipment."

"During navigation and berthing, the third officer also has to stand watch, and is responsible for the ship’s lifesaving, firefighting equipment and medical supplies, etc. It’s like our police station, where there are specific divisions of labor," Han Yu handed over his police uniform and continued.

Meng Hualei grew more confused and asked, "Then who is responsible for navigating the ship?"

"The captain plans the voyage, and whoever is on watch during navigation commands the journey. The actual person at the helm is the helmsman, that is, the first-level sailor. There are usually five or six first-level sailors on a large ship, all capable of navigating."

"So it’s the sailors who navigate! I always thought it was the captain steering, that the captain navigated the ship!"

"A captain must also know how to navigate the ship. You could say that being able to steer is a basic skill for a sailor."

Han Yu thought for a moment and then said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, actually navigating a large ship isn’t as difficult as you think. When you’re out at sea, with nothing but water as far as the eye can see and so deep, just staying on course is enough. The main thing is paying attention when entering and exiting ports because there are many ships and the risk of collision is high."

Han Xiangning, who had deep feelings about this topic, couldn’t help but laugh and say, "Sister-in-law, despite the titles of ship captain, chief officer, and second officer sounding very impressive, when it comes to precise navigation, they’re no match for the captains of the inland river tugboats."

Meng Hualei instinctively asked, "Can Captain Fan navigate better than your Salted Fish?"

Before his senior colleague could speak, Han Yu affirmed with a smile, "Captain Fan and Captain Wang used to operate tugboats, towing over a dozen barges. ’Dragon tail wagging’ is not easy to control. It’s a bit easier navigating in the river, but much more difficult when entering the canals, due to the narrow waterways and shallow depths."

"Salted Fish, you can’t handle such a fleet?"

"If I were to steer the tug, at most I could handle five or six barges, any more than that I wouldn’t dare attempt."

As soon as Han Yu finished speaking, Han Xiangning couldn’t help but chuckle, "Actually, that’s not even the hardest part. Pushing ahead is even more difficult. There are always people who are better."

Now that she’s married to a Changhang navigation police officer, she can’t afford to be ignorant of these matters.

Meng Hualei couldn’t help but ask, "Push convoy?"

"That’s when a barge is arranged in front and the tug is pushing from behind. There aren’t many in Binjiang, but Xuzhou has quite a few. About half of the push convoys on the river are from there. Xuzhou has coal mines; those push convoys are mainly for transporting coal."

Han Xiangning giggled and then turned to ask, "Salted Fish, you and Captain Xu found so many defects and even suspect that the certificates of the captain and crew might be fake. Did you have the Ship Agency contact the shipowner?"

"We got in touch. Do you know who the Ship Agency is?"

"Who?"

"Tang Wentai."

"What a coincidence!"

"Not really a coincidence. There’re only a few ship agencies in Binjiang."

"That’s true. So he contacted the shipowner. What did the shipowner say?"

Han Yu, petting Little Junjun’s head, smiled and said, "The Hong Kong shipowner said they ’do not possess the ability to discern the authenticity of certificates’ so they failed to notice in time and want to use this as an excuse to escape punishment."

Chen Zikun asked in a low voice, "Director Yu, does this essentially confirm the certificates are fake?"

"When I returned, Captain Xu and Director Yang took the captain and crew suspected of using fake certificates to the Port Supervision Bureau for questioning. Seeing their ship detained and the Port Supervision Bureau having enough time to verify authenticity, they didn’t dare take chances and admitted they used fake certificates bought with money."

"What did the captain do before?"

"He was a third officer; he has the Competence Certificate for that. Some of the crewmen were fishermen before, without formal training, and never served on ocean-going cargo ships."

"The shipowner must’ve been aware of these circumstances."

"The shipowner should have known."

Chen Zikun, puzzled, asked, "If the shipowner knew, why would they still employ them?"

Han Yu sighed softly, helplessly saying, "To cut costs and reduce expenses, of course. Senior officers, especially captains, cost so much annually. Hire a Two Swords, and one-third of that would suffice for a year. As for ordinary crew, those with certificates are definitely more expensive than those without.

In fact, from the perspective of cost-saving, they could totally hire sailors from the Mainland. Yet, some Hong Kong shipowners would rather pay people from Southeast Asia than hire equally inexpensive Mainland sailors."

Thinking about the joke Fang Guoya had once made with Chen Zikun, Han Xiangning couldn’t help but laugh, "Sister-in-law, it’s like how your dad would rather subcontract work to small contractors from outside than let the folks who helped him build his empire get rich."

It was an embarrassing truth.

Meng Hualei scratched her neck, feeling awkward as she said, "I’ve asked my dad about that too. He said if he let his own people take on the contracts for rebar and formwork, they’d all become contractors, and then he’d have no one to work for him."

One must not talk about their father-in-law behind his back...

Chen Zikun hurried back to the original topic, "Director Yu, now that the captain and crew have admitted to using fake certificates, what will happen next?"

Han Yu did not answer the question but instead watched her senior with a smile.

Han Xiangning answered without hesitation, "The crew violated international conventions and China’s maritime crew regulations. According to the regulations, fake certificates must be confiscated, and fines between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand yuan imposed. Illegal gains, if any, must be confiscated. In their case, they’re definitely looking at the maximum penalty."

"What about the captain?"

"The regulations clearly state that the captain must ensure the ship and its crew carry certificates, documents, and related navigation data that conform to legal requirements. Although the captain also used a fake certificate, he was originally a third officer and the actual person in charge on the ship, so he must be held accountable."

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiangning continued, "Therefore, not only is he to be penalized for using a fake certificate, but he must also accept responsibility as the factual captain. Apart from the aforementioned penalties, there will be a fine of two thousand to twenty thousand yuan and a suspension of his third officer Competence Certificate for six months to two years."

Meng Hualei couldn’t help but ask, "Does the shipowner have any responsibility?"

"Yes, there is. The regulations stipulate that employers of seafarers must not hire individuals without proper certificates to work onboard. The shipowner can’t escape punishment with excuses such as ’lacking the ability to identify real or fake.’ They must be ordered to correct the issue and face a fine of thirty thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand yuan."

Meng Hualei was baffled, secretly admiring the Fine Master’s knowledge as if she knew it all by heart.

Chen Zikun admired her greatly and couldn’t help but ask with a laugh, "Does that mean your bureau can issue fines amounting to hundreds of thousands this time?"

"How could it be just hundreds of thousands."

"More?"

"Of course more. This is just for the use of fake certificates by the crew and the shipowner hiring fake crew. Their ship had so many defects; each defect discovered requires a penalty."

"So a million might not even be enough!"

"If you add the port fees incurred during the detention, the cost of hurriedly finding qualified captains and crew to replace them, the cost of repairing those major defects, and the compensation for the shipper’s losses due to the delay, the shipowner might end up working for nothing this year."

Han Xiangning does not feel sympathy for the Hong Kong shipowner, and thinking of Sister Jiang she saw today, she concluded, "Therefore, no matter what you do, you must abide by the law and not play dirty. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay the price eventually."