Just as Director Feng said, Han Yu and Ma Jintao haven't had any other tasks these days and have been mainly responsible for giving briefings to various units participating in the joint military exercise.

As for the power boat that Ma Jintao was driving, it has long been taken over by the landing craft battalion's warriors.

Before the briefing, a script needs to be written. The script must be sent to the Political Department of the Military District and the Fleet's Political Department for review by the Political Work Officer. After each briefing, a summary is needed, the effectiveness of the briefing must be evaluated, and modifications to the script need to be made.

It can be said that whether you can make the officers and soldiers in the audience cry is the only standard for measuring the success of the briefing.

It's worth mentioning that the temporarily formed "Battlefield Heroes and Role Models Storytelling Team" has become a highlight of the political work of the joint military exercise.

This morning, the leadership of the storytelling team has been taken over by General Politics.

According to Captain Yu, who is fully responsible for the briefing work, after the exercise ends, the storytelling team cannot be disbanded. Next, it may need to organize hero representatives to go on a touring briefing to units that did not participate in the exercise.

Han Yu did not expect to stumble upon this task carelessly, and since it's a political task, it's impossible not to give briefings. He can only obey orders from his superiors, giving briefing after briefing until he no longer needs a script.

The only relief is that unlike the observation team having a camp area, after the briefing everyone can go home, and then gather again the next day on time.

Han Yu spoke until his mouth was dry and was preparing to return to the training ship with Ma Jintao on a transport boat when Chief of Staff Zhang from the East Sea Base suddenly came to find him.

"Secretary Han, Vice Commander Yu and Captain Fang are looking for you; there's an urgent matter."

"What urgent matter?"

"I'm only responsible for delivering orders; as for the urgent matter, I really don't know. Quickly get in the car; don't keep the leaders waiting."

"Okay."

Han Yu could only let Ma Jintao board the transport boat back to the training ship first. He climbed into the jeep driven by Chief of Staff Zhang and hurriedly made his way to the logistics command center tent.

After calling out "Report," Captain Fang inside said, "Please come in." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Han Yu lifted the curtain and walked in, urgently asking, "Captain Fang, Vice Commander Yu, what's the matter?"

Captain Fang picked up a telephone record and smiled, "Plans can't keep up with changes; your task needs to be ended ahead of schedule. Quickly use the radio to contact comrades on the ship and ask them to help pack your luggage and send it ashore. I'll arrange a car to take you to the airport after dinner to catch the 11 p.m. flight back to Binjiang."

"What happened in Binjiang? Was there an accident on the river?"

"Nothing happened to Binjiang, but there was indeed an accident on the river."

If there's an accident on the river, it's either nothing or a big incident, and lives could be lost!

Han Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly asked, "What happened on the river?"

Captain Fang turned to look at Vice Commander Yu and explained, "Around 1 o'clock last night, a cargo ship under Zhonghai full of coal lost anchor while mooring at No.3 Pier at Zhangjia Port. The cargo ship went out of control and drifted downriver, colliding with a South Korean cargo ship."

"Was anyone injured or killed?"

"No."

Captain Fang really didn't want Han Yu to leave, but the company's president specifically named Han Yu to go back and participate in the accident investigation. More precisely, they want Han Yu, the "local tyrant," to help collect evidence beneficial to Zhonghai. So now Han Yu has to go back.

After all, when you are setting up two reserve transport groups for their company, and their cargo ship has an accident, you cannot leave them unaided.

Vice Commander Yu also didn't want the junior to go back, but considering the relationship with Zhonghai, he could only agree. He walked over and added, "Fortunately, Binjiang Maritime Bureau responded swiftly, immediately deploying high-powered tugboats for rescue operations after receiving the distress call. They transferred the crew to the rescue ships overnight and towed Zhonghai's cargo ship to shallows to ground it."

"Was the economic loss significant?"

"Although all possible rescue measures were taken, Zhonghai's cargo ship ultimately capsized. Judging from the damage, even if salvaged for repair, including the eighteen thousand tons of coal it carried, the economic loss was no less than fifty million RMB."

"What about the South Korean cargo ship?"

"The South Korean cargo ship was not severely damaged, but according to Zhonghai comrades over the phone, when their cargo ship collided with the South Korean cargo ship, the bow of the South Korean cargo ship made a large gap in the hull of their cargo ship. Their crew feared the cargo ship would take in water and sink and repeatedly requested the South Korean cargo ship not to disengage. However, the South Korean cargo ship forcibly disengaged, directly causing their cargo ship to ultimately capsize."

"How far were the two ships anchored from each other?"

"0.8 nautical miles."

"Being that far apart, could they still collide? Did they not assign crew members on duty while anchored?"

"I also think they should bear primary responsibility. But as far as I know, according to current marine traffic regulations, the South Korean cargo ship should also have had crew members on duty. Upon discovering Zhonghai cargo ship lost the anchor, they should have taken evasive maneuvers promptly. Moreover, after the collision, they shouldn't have disengaged easily. Disengaging like that essentially allowed the river water to flood into Zhonghai cargo ship's cargo hold."

Whenever a traffic accident occurs, everyone has their own reasoning.

As for the water traffic accident mentioned by Captain Fang and Vice Commander Yu, it is clear that the South Korean cargo ship suffered a misfortune.

Han Yu didn't expect such an incident to occur and asked with a bitter smile, "Which unit is responsible for investigating this traffic accident?"

Vice Commander Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "The Binjiang Maritime Bureau."

"My spouse is the department head of ship inspection at the Binjiang Maritime Bureau; is it appropriate for me to return? Moreover, even if I go back, in what capacity can I participate in the investigation?"

"Chief of Staff Feng mentioned that you seem to be some sort of consultant for the Binjiang Maritime Bureau."

"Vice Commander Yu, I had forgotten until you reminded me. I did indeed once serve as a PSC inspection consultant for the Binjiang Maritime Bureau, but this is a traffic accident investigation, not a ship defect inspection."

Zhonghai insisting on "junior" returning clearly indicates they want "junior" to help sway the situation.

Vice Commander Yu felt it truly put "junior" in a difficult spot and didn't know how to proceed. Suddenly, Captain Fang said abruptly, "Salted Fish, there's another issue now. Two cargo ships collided, and Zhonghai's cargo ship's over 18,000 tons of coal sank. We don't know whether the South Korean cargo ship's over 2,000 tons of toluene leaked, but it has undoubtedly caused severe environmental pollution in the Yangtze River. The immediate task is to take measures to minimize the pollution."

Vice Commander Yu snapped back to reality and quickly said, "You are the Binjiang Water Army Commander, and it is your section of the river being polluted; the work to take remedial measures cannot proceed without you."

Afraid that Salted Fish wouldn't help, Captain Fang said with deep meaning, "Investigating upon return and whatever results the investigation yields are one matter, but whether you go back or not is another matter."

"Captain Fang is right. Just by going back, you can show that you care about Zhonghai's issue; returning itself is a statement."

"Moreover, for such water traffic accidents, the maritime department can only investigate. Ultimately, however, it will have to be handled by the maritime court. Whether mediation or adjudication occurs later, it has nothing to do with you."

Han Yu muttered, "This is a big hassle; a lot of troublesome matters will follow."

Captain Fang instinctively asked, "How troublesome will it be?"

"Firstly, who will ultimately cover the rescue cost for the two cargo ships is disputed, and the amount paid is also debated. Secondly, who will pay for the pollution clean-up, and whether there is a dispute regarding the clean-up costs. And then, how the accident liability will be determined, and who should bear the loss of both the cargo ships and their cargo.

Both ship companies, the insurance companies for the two cargo ships, the cargo owners, the cargo insurance companies, plus the units involved in rescue and clean-up—all have their reasoning. These disputes will be hard to settle, and mediation won't be easy."

Han Yu sighed lightly, thought for a moment, and added, "Additionally, since the ship that was hit is a South Korean cargo ship, there's a possibility it could trigger international maritime disputes."

Vice Commander Yu understood well how troublesome this was but still assertively said, "What does South Korea have to worry about? Speaking of Korea makes me angry. In April this year, a South Korean cargo plane crashed in the East Sea; their pilot messed up the altitude units, and they still wanted to shift the blame onto our Civil Aviation of China's air traffic control!"

This is the turn of the century, also a turbulent time.

The plane crash of a South Korean cargo plane in the East Sea this April shocked the world. At the time, as Vice Commander Yu said, South Korea kept blaming China.

To investigate the truth of the plane crash, the nation began from five aspects that might have caused the crash: mechanical reasons, flight operations, air traffic control, cargo transport, and police work. It established five working groups for flight, air traffic control, police, transport, and aircraft maintenance, with leaders from Civil Aviation of China serving as the heads, and officials and experts from China, Korea, and the United States participating as group members.

The investigation ultimately confirmed that it was indeed the pilot's errors that led to the plane crash, and the reason was extraordinarily absurd: the South Korean pilot actually got the altitude units wrong!

By decoding the Black Box and analyzing communications between the plane and air traffic control, it was found that upon taking off from East Sea Hongqiao Airport, they needed to reach an altitude of 1500 meters as per regulations to avoid affecting other air traffic.

As the plane ascended, the co-pilot glanced at the dashboard and saw the flight altitude reading was 4500, already "exceeding" the regulated altitude. He promptly reminded the pilot, who, seeing the number 4500, was startled and decisively pushed the control stick, making the plane nose dive.

However, in their panic, both the pilot and co-pilot forgot that the unit for 4500 should be feet, not meters. This directly caused the over 200-ton plane to lose speed and crash, hitting and exploding in a residential area in East Sea, resulting in five deaths and over forty injuries.

After the investigation results came out, they stopped clamoring, though it's unknown whether they compensated for the economic losses to the city residents caused by the plane crash.

Moreover, under China's current regulations on water traffic and related international conventions, even though the South Korean cargo ship was hit by Zhonghai's cargo ship, it doesn't mean they are without responsibility.

The anchoring positions of the two cargo ships weren't that far apart; if the South Korean cargo ship had appointed personnel for duty as required, discovered Zhonghai's cargo ship drifting, and promptly taken evasive measures, this water traffic accident would not have occurred.

Besides, in this world, what goes around comes around!

You suggested they form a reserve transport group, and they now come to you when encountering issues. Even if you don't help, you should at least express your position.

Han Yu weighed his options, raised his head and said, "I obey orders, I will go back for the investigation."

"That's great." Vice Commander Yu handed over a note: "Here's the phone number of President Tang from Zhonghai who is in charge of handling this incident. Be sure to call President Tang when you get to Binjiang."

Han Yu took the note and asked, "What about the Observation Team and the Storytelling Team?"

Captain Fang immediately said, "We'll help you take leave."