It was already September, yet the weather was still scorching hot, and the aft deck of Sea Patrol Boat 48 was baked by the blazing sun to the point where you could fry an egg on it.

The wind over the river was quite strong, but Han Xiangning couldn't feel even a hint of coolness. Wearing a hard hat and a life jacket, one hand on the blistering hot guardrail, she stood on the deck observing the oil slick spreading out after the Zhonghai cargo vessel Yuzhang sank.

She was sweating profusely from the heat, but had no time to go into the cabin for air conditioning. Holding up the walkie-talkie, she shouted, "Director Liu, Director Liu, there's an oil slick about three by three hundred meters long on the river surface. By visual observation it doesn't look too serious; the fuel oil in the bunker tanks probably hasn't leaked."

"Do we need to arrange an oil-cleaning vessel?"

"Just send one over, that'll be enough."

Han Xiangning looked back toward the direction where the Yuzhang had sunk, then added, "There's a flood coming down from upstream, the water level in mid‑river is very high, quite a few navigation marks nearby have shifted position, and one Sea Patrol Boat on guard is not enough. To ensure navigational safety, we must immediately delineate a safety perimeter in the accident waters, deploy guard buoys, assign another Sea Patrol Boat to stand watch, and issue a navigation warning to alert passing vessels."

"Copy, thank you for your hard work, get back here quickly."

"Director Liu, I'm already out here, let me stay on the river and keep an eye on things a bit longer. More and more large and small vessels are passing through the area; with just visual lookout they can't see the Yuzhang lying on the riverbed. If anyone runs into her, that'll be trouble." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Sea Patrol 36 and Sea Patrol 39 will be there any moment. You come back first, you've got more important work to do."

"What work?"

Deputy Director Liu was standing in the Traffic Control Center, looking down at the radar display on the computer screen. Holding the radio microphone, he said, "Jiangcheng Maritime Bureau has asked us to select our best people to investigate this accident. Director Tang just called and specifically named you to join the investigation team."

Han Xiangning instinctively looked up toward the shore and said with a bitter face, "Director Liu, I'm the Head of the Safety Inspection Division, not the Head of the Accident Division. What am I doing on an investigation team?"

"Old Guan is the Head of the Accident Division, but he doesn't know English. Besides, this is a major collision between a Chinese and a Korean cargo ship. The Korean Ship Owner and the Korea Shipowners' Mutual Protection Association will both send people. In Director Tang's words, the personnel participating in the investigation have to be not only professionally outstanding, but also capable of representing the image of China Maritime."

"All right, I'll head back right now."

...

Marine's handling of waterborne traffic accidents is not the same as the traffic police handling accidents on land.

Once a sinking occurs, the economic losses are huge, and with rescue, salvage, and cargo damage involved, the disputes are immense as well. It's not something a few Marine Law Enforcement Officers can mediate; in the end almost all cases end up in the maritime court.

And lawsuits don't wrap up in just a few months. At least eight out of ten cases will be appealed, and many cases eventually have to be fought all the way to Hanwu Maritime Court.

The accident investigation conclusions of the Maritime Department are an important basis for the court's final judgment and must stand up to scrutiny.

So during accident investigations, shipowners, insurance companies, and Shipowners' Mutual Protection Associations will all assign professionals to participate. For Marine this is not a bad thing; only in this way can the investigation conclusions be convincing to all parties.

In fact, it's not just in traffic accident handling. Even when the Safety Inspection Division finds serious deficiencies on a ship and decides to detain her, the shipowner will commission professional surveyors to take part. Safety inspectors must be familiar with domestic laws and regulations and all kinds of international conventions, and their detention decisions must be such that the shipowners accept them willingly.

Realizing that this accident would have major domestic and international repercussions and feeling the pressure on the Bureau's leadership, Han Xiangning hurriedly had the helmsman adjust course back to shore, then rushed to the Bureau in a Santana parked by the pier.

She hadn't expected that the moment she stepped out of the elevator, she would see her junior schoolmate, backpack on his shoulders, talking with Director Liu, Director Guan, and Traffic Control Center Director Wu Hai Li at the door of the Accident Division.

"San'er, when did you get back?"

"I flew back last night."

"Flew to where?" Han Xiangning asked delightedly.

Han Yu put down his luggage and explained with a smile, "I flew from Xiamen to East Sea, slept at the airport until dawn, and took the long‑distance bus back this morning."

Han Xiangning pressed on, "What about the anti-smuggling boat, and Guo Weitao and Xiao Gong?"

"Boat 825 completed resupply and rest two days ago and headed back out yesterday morning to perform perimeter guard duties for the exercise area at sea. Director Qian and Xiao Gong and the others still have to cooperate with the active‑duty units in the exercise, and they can't come back until it's over."

"So the exercise isn't over yet?" Deputy Director Liu asked curiously.

"No."

"Then how did you manage to come back?" Wu Hai Li pursued.

Han Yu hesitated for a moment, then said with some embarrassment, "Director Liu, Director Wu, Director Guan, to be frank, I'm here to take part in your upcoming accident investigation."

Before Director Liu could speak, Han Xiangning asked blankly, "You're not even a cadre in our Bureau, what are you doing in our accident investigation?"

"I'm your PSC inspection consultant. If you think I'm not qualified to take part in the accident investigation in that capacity, then I'll participate as a consultant to Zhonghai Group."

"You came back to pull strings!"

"That's not quite fair. Don't worry, when I was taking part in the exercise I was an Observer; an Observer only brings his eyes and ears and doesn't and cannot express opinions. It'll be the same for the accident investigation: I will absolutely not put you in a difficult position."

He had been the one to suggest that they set up two Reserve transport regiments, and now that their cargo ship had collided with a South Korean cargo ship, they thought of him and asked him to come back and help smooth things over!

It suddenly clicked for Han Xiangning, and she blurted out without thinking, "No way. How can you take part in the accident investigation? Just you standing here is enough for people to question the impartiality of our findings. In a situation like this, you should be avoiding any conflict of interest!"