Warship of Great Power

"Five hundred thousand dollars has been received. Let's go back and pick up the Petrel." Zaitsev said to Ilovich.

"Okay, return!" Ilovich gave the order to the helmsman.

Woohoo!

The whistle sounded, the nuclear-powered icebreaker made a big circle and turned back. Sollot finally breathed a sigh of relief. Things were not as bad as imagined. Now it was only delayed for two days. Now when the 50-year Victory nuclear-powered icebreaker comes back, they can continue to move forward!

I hope there will be no other accidents!

On the Petrel, everyone was looking forward to it, waiting, waiting. When they saw the icebreaker appearing in the dark and heard the crackling sound of the ice breaking on the sea, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that things are as planned. The icebreaker is here to pick them up!

Woohoo! The whistle sounded, and both sides saluted each other. The ice around the Petrel kept breaking, and it was finally able to move!

The crew of the Haiyan was very excited to regain their freedom. Under the guidance of the icebreaker, they continued to move forward.

"It seems that sailing on the ice is not a big deal." The captain said: "As long as there is an icebreaker, the journey will be smooth. After this trip is successful, we can often take this route in the future."

After all, this saves time and distance. For them, the fuel cost of driving all the way is the biggest expense during the voyage. Saving distance means saving fuel. As for the extra heating due to the cold, it is not worth mentioning at all. The energy consumed by sailing is the most.

On the icebreaker, Ilovich looked at the lights coming from behind several times, and couldn't help but speak again: "Zaytsev, are we going to lead the ship behind us off course?"

"Of course not, if only that one deviates from the course, what about the rest? What if the remaining seven ask to rent other icebreakers to go back? We have to continue to reunite and move forward. We will do it when we reach the Northern Territory."

The Arctic route mainly passes through three archipelagos along the way. If you go from east to west, you will first pass through the New Siberian Islands, then the Northern Territory, and finally the Novaya Zemlya, and then you can enter the Barents Sea.

When you arrive at the Northern Territory, you are right in the center of the route. At that time, whether the other party is moving forward or backward, it will not be easy. Being trapped there, you will really be desperate.

"Okay."

Near the New Siberian Islands, seeing his ship frozen, Sollot's mood gradually became nervous. Will there be any problems?

Fortunately, at the scheduled time, several beams of light appeared in the east, and the two ships finally returned on time!

"Friends, sorry to have kept you waiting. Let's continue on our way!" Zaitsev's voice came from the radio: "I hope the second half of our journey will be smoother! I hope no more companions will fall behind!"

The last time the Petrel fell behind was because it was at the end of the formation, and in order to avoid collision, it pulled a large distance from the ship in front, and the ice in front froze before it passed.

We must not make the same mistake this time! Therefore, the Petrel followed closely behind the Fifty Years Victory icebreaker, and was the first one. As long as it followed the icebreaker closely, it would be absolutely fine!

Afterwards, one ship after another also shortened the sailing distance, and the team was very dense.

The semi-submersible Dockwise Pioneer was at the end, just changing direction with the previous formation.

"Hurry up, hurry up, I don't want to be frozen!" Sollot kept urging the bearded captain.

"No, we are only one kilometer away now. It's too dangerous. If we have to stop due to an accident ahead, we won't be able to stop at all and will crash into it."

The two got along well along the way, but now, the bearded captain had a conflict with Sollot for the first time.

"What kind of accident could happen? Like last time, we were frozen because we sailed too slowly? Last time, we had to pay the Russians an extra $500,000 in rescue funds. I don't want this to happen again." Sollot said.

"Last time, we just encountered a sudden cold wave, which was just an accident, but if we drove too fast..."

While speaking, the bearded captain heard the exclamation on the radio.

"Oh, damn, slow down!"

When he heard this, he was shocked and shouted loudly: "Quick, reverse, full speed!"

Although he didn't know which semi-submersible ship had a problem, now, after hearing it, the semi-submersible ships behind were very nervous and started to reverse at full speed.

Only the propeller reversal can provide deceleration force, it is not really going to reverse, but it is not easy for a huge ship weighing tens of thousands of tons to stop at sea.

Bang!

There was a violent collision in front, and then there were sparks of friction. In the dark polar night, the sparks were clearly visible.

Sollot's heart sank. It's over. Will something big happen now?

Under the light, the semi-submersible ship in front was approaching quickly and was about to hit it. The ship still couldn't stop, so the bearded captain could only give an order helplessly: "Full left rudder!"

The bow turned quickly and avoided the tail of the freighter in front. If it was on an ordinary sea, this traffic accident would be successfully avoided, but it couldn't be done now. Now it is in the Arctic Ocean!

Bang!

The next moment, the bow of the semi-submersible ship, the Dockwise Pioneer, hit the ice. Because the bow was sloped, the bow of the semi-submersible ship began to rise and rushed towards the ice. Even the bow at the bottom of the bow only knocked open a piece of ice and continued to rush forward.

So, the semi-submersible ship, the Dockwise Pioneer, suddenly became an icebreaker, rushed onto the ice, and then crushed the ice with its own gravity.

Crack... Bang! Crash!

After the bow crushed the ice, it fell heavily, splashing countless water. At this moment, Sollot was extremely nervous. He thought the ship was going to capsize. It felt so good to be alive!

However, after being glad that he was still alive, Sollot became worried again: What about the entire formation?

What about other ships?

"Dockwise Pioneer calling, how are the other ships?" Sollot quickly picked up the radio.

"The Taiyang is fine."

"Thank you, the Marlin is fine."

Sollot slowly relaxed.

It seems that it was just a close call, but what happened to the sparks of the collision?

"Haiyan, Haiyan..." A somewhat frustrated voice came from the radio.

It's Haiyan again!

Sollot became nervous: "What happened to Haiyan? Tell me!"

"Haiyan and the 50 Years Victory had a collision, and the cargo on the Haiyan has tilted and needs to be reloaded..."

Generally speaking, the more backward cargo ships in the formation are more likely to collide, but I didn't expect that this time it was the first and second ships in the formation that collided!

Sollot's face was extremely ugly. If I had known, I wouldn't have rescued you! You will freeze on the sea first. When our seven semi-submersible ships arrive at the destination, it won't be too late for the 50 Years Victory to pick you up!

Wait!

The cargo on the Haiyan tilted, so what about the 50 Years Victory? Is there something wrong with this icebreaker?

If this icebreaker is broken, it will be a big trouble!

With a nervous mood, Sollot picked up the microphone and called again.

"Calling the 50 Years Victory, how are you?"

"We were hit just outside the nuclear reactor."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's heart was immediately chilled.

This Haiyan was too much! It must have been left with a psychological shadow after being left behind last time. This time it actually followed closely behind the 50 Years Victory, and it was too close to the rear end!

Before the rear-end collision, it swung the rudder, so it didn't hit the 50 Years Victory directly from behind, but scraped past from the side, and scraped the nuclear reactor!

"Fifty Years Victory, hold on, our ships are all insured, and this time the insurance will pay!" Sollot didn't know what was in his mind. He didn't care about the progress or whether he could arrive on time, but he was actually concerned about the money first!

After all, they really had no money, and they couldn't borrow it anymore!

Ships on the sea must be insured, and even every time they transport goods, they must insure the goods. For example, ships transporting containers never dare to tie them up. If the containers are tilted, if they are not tied up, several containers will fall off, and if they are tied up, the whole ship will capsize. If they fall into the sea, the worst that can happen is that the insurance company will pay for it.

This time, the 50-year Victory should not try to blackmail them again. This time, the insurance company will pay for it!

"Received. In order to avoid problems with the nuclear reactor, we have temporarily shut down the nuclear reactor and started the diesel engine to power it. We may need to stop here for a few days."

"Received..." Sollot suddenly reacted when he heard this: "How many days do we need to stop?"

"Yes, we need to thoroughly check the condition of the nuclear reactor and confirm that there is no problem before restarting it."

"Then what should we do?"

"You go contact the insurance company."

"Can the insurance company let us continue sailing?"

"The insurance company can compensate us, and then we will have money to repair it."

Sollot almost rolled his eyes and fainted. What did you say? We can't continue sailing?

On the nuclear-powered icebreaker, Zaitsev had a smile on his face: "This Haiyan really makes me suspect that someone else arranged it."

First, it fell behind and froze on the ice, and then it drove too hard and collided with its own icebreaker!

You know, nuclear-powered icebreakers have a strong shell. After all, they have to rely on collisions and other methods to open up a path on the ice. Can they be afraid of a collision with a semi-submersible ship? It even has a double-hull structure, which is quite strong!

However, since the other party took the initiative to hit us, we must take the opportunity to stop here!

Anyway, it was originally to delay time. If we continue to drive, the insurance company will not compensate, and the victim will have to pretend to be seriously injured.

And the unlucky Haiyan, still wants to reload? A few hours later, the ice surface is frozen, how can we continue to load?

Ilovich was also very excited: "Finally I can take a break, but it will be dawn in a few hours. If our chimney doesn't emit smoke, they will easily find us."

Of course, we are using nuclear power now. The nuclear reactor is fine, so why should we start the backup diesel engine? The diesel engine needs to burn oil!

However, if there is no smoke, it will be easy to be suspected.

"Wait until dawn and have a barbecue. There will be smoke, right?"

Ilovich's eyes lit up: "Yes, I haven't had barbecue for a long time. This time I will have a good meal!"

As for how to connect the barbecue chimney to the exhaust pipe, it is not difficult. Just do the barbecue in the engine room!

For the old Russians, there is nothing they dare not do.

Anyway, they have been prepared for a long time, and they did not expect this voyage to end easily, but Sollot is different.

In the satellite phone, Sollot reported all this to Oryang in a rage.

"Yes, it is the Haiyan. Investigate who the crew of the Haiyan are, especially the captain. I suspect that he took money from the Orientals and deliberately destroyed our voyage!"

Now, Sollot has realized that there is something wrong with the Haiyan!

However, the Haiyan is their Norwegian semi-submersible ship, and most of the crew on it are Norwegians. Can they still rely on the Orientals? This investigation is destined to be difficult.

"What should we do next?" Oryang asked with a gloomy face.

"How should I know? I report to you just to ask what to do next."

"You are the person in charge of this mission!"

"You are the head of Seadrill!"

Olyang rubbed his temple with his hand, which was throbbing violently, as if it could collapse at any time.

"Does Russia have other nuclear-powered icebreakers?"

"Of course, but if we want to invite their new nuclear-powered icebreakers to come, we must re-sign the contract and spend the road-opening fee again. Moreover, in terms of time..."

"What are you waiting for? Urge the 50-year Victory icebreaker to be repaired quickly, and get on the road as soon as it is repaired!"

"Then should we urge the insurance company?"

"Got it, I'll go to the insurance company, and you urge Russia to get on the road as soon as possible. This is related to the reputation of the Arctic route!"

If Russia deliberately did something, it would definitely affect their reputation, but this time, Russia really did nothing. It was all the fault of the Petrel.

The first time, the Petrel was frozen, and the second time, the Petrel collided with the nuclear-powered icebreaker. Can Russia be blamed for this? It's obviously this ship that has a problem!

The Fifty Years of Victory just stayed on the ice, motionless. A few hours later, the ice that had been broken all around froze again!

At dawn, green smoke came out of the chimney. Sollot's ship was at the back, and only smoke could be seen, nothing else.

"What is Da Mao doing?"

"I don't know. If you want to ask, you can actually go down and walk over the ice to see."

"I'm not, it's freezing outside."

The sun soon set again, and Sollot felt like a year. After the third sun rose, he finally couldn't help it.

"I want to go over and see, I want to see with my own eyes, see what they are doing."

Wearing his own knockoff down jacket, Sollot climbed down the gangway tremblingly, and then slowly moved along the ice. Looking at the frozen ships in front of him, his heart became even colder.

Could it be that when the nuclear-powered icebreaker is repaired, these ships will not be able to move, and can only wait until the spring flowers bloom in the second year?

Sollot's mood is extremely complicated.

After all, icebreakers also need to be able to move in order to break the ice. What if nuclear-powered icebreakers are also frozen?

If we wait for half a year... Sollot is ready to commit suicide.

At this moment, cheers suddenly came from a distance.

Sollot looked over and saw several energetic people playing football on the ice! They ran funny and fell down a few times, but they didn't care and got up and continued to run.

This is not amazing. On the other side, a man took off all his clothes and was covered with hair. He looked like he had not evolved yet. He raised his neck and gulped down a bottle of wine, then, plop!

This guy actually jumped directly into the ice hole!

Sollot was stunned. After jumping into the ice hole, can he get up again? Is this old Russian looking for death?

Sollot couldn't believe his eyes and walked over quickly. When he got there, the ice hole was splashing with water. The old Russian actually swam out of it, his whole body red, obviously frozen by the zero-degree ice water.

Although the old Russians have a lot of land, the population density is not high. It seems that there is a reason!

Sollot sighed, and when he saw the old Russian's appearance clearly, he was suddenly stunned: "Zaitsev, aren't you troubleshooting the nuclear reactor?"

Zaitsev was also stunned. He didn't expect that he was discovered by the client when he ran out to play while slacking off?

"Yes, I am troubleshooting the nuclear reactor." Zaitsev said, "I just swam down to the bottom of the ship to detect the intensity of nuclear radiation to see if it exceeds the standard. If it exceeds the standard, it means that the bottom of the ship has been seriously damaged."

Sorlot opened his eyes wide and looked at Zaitsev who was quickly getting dressed: "Are you really going to check the ship?"

"Yes." Zaitsev said, "Otherwise, why would I go down?"

For the Russians, swimming in ice holes in winter is exciting and refreshing. Many Russians like to do this. Outsiders cannot understand it, but it also explains: I took a huge risk just to check the situation at the bottom of the ship!

"But where is your radiation meter?"

"It fell into the water, you go down to take a look?"

Sollot didn't dare to go down. He looked at the other people pulling the line in the ice hole, and he didn't know what they were doing.

"What about the others?" Sollot pointed at the people playing football on the ice.

"Them? They are not engine operators, and they don't understand nuclear reactors. They are confused on the ship..."

As he spoke, the fishing line was pulled up, and a big fish weighing more than 30 kilograms was pulled up from the ice hole! The old Russians were so excited, there was a fish to eat!

The things in the cold storage on the ship were not fresh, and this fish tasted better!