At 8:45 in the morning, the investigation resumed.

Just like yesterday, we first examined the vessel and seaman's certificates of the Korean cargo ship "Yangmi" and then questioned the crew one by one.

The only difference from yesterday is that Han Yu, the translator, truly played a role today, constantly correcting the content relayed by the Korean side's translator.

You could tell the translator hired by the Korean side from the East Sea was professional, but not very knowledgeable about maritime affairs, so it was quite common for the meaning to be lost in translation.

Due to the time required for translation, the investigation efficiency was not very high, and questioning continued late into the night until 11 p.m., when the captain of the Korean cargo ship "Yangmi" was finally able to make the final statement.

This final statement is very important as its content will be submitted to the Maritime Bureau in document form. By international convention, this document is the maritime declaration submitted by the Korean side!

Compared to the captain of Zhonghai, the Korean captain was much more composed.

He stood up, holding the prepared statement, and read it slowly and steadily.

He spoke in English, and Han Xiangning, after half a year of intensive study, could understand the gist of it.

Director Liu, Old Guan, and Old Wu didn't understand English, so they had to rely on the interpretation from the translator hired by the Korean side.

"On September 3, my ship loaded with 2866.46 tons of toluene left South Korea heading for Jiangyin, China, and arrived at China's Yangtze River estuary pilot station at 9:30 a.m. on September 4. At 21:00, we reached Zhangjia Port's anchorage area 30 and anchored with six knots in the water with China's maritime permission."

"At 1:15 a.m., when Park Yonggang, the on-duty officer, discovered a ship moving towards us from the 285-degree direction. The crew repeatedly shouted 'Danger' at the oncoming ship and rang the bell to warn, but the 'Yuzhang' ship continued to collide with our ship's bow. At that time, the two ships were less than 200 meters apart, and my ship had no time or conditions to take measures to avoid the collision."

"At 1:25 a.m., the left stern of 'Yuzhang' collided with our ship's bow. At that time, my ship was unable to advance or lift the anchor. At 1:25 a.m., I entered the bridge and called the pilot. At 1:33 a.m., the pilot entered the bridge, prepared the ship for departure, and repeatedly attempted to lift the anchor but was unsuccessful. 'Yuzhang' gradually moved towards our ship's port side."

"At 1:45 a.m., our ship began to lift the anchor. At 1:48 a.m., the pilot ordered port turn and advance two. At 1:50 a.m., our ship followed 'Yuzhang' to the second anchorage. During the relocation process, our ship lost the left anchor and half of the anchor chain, and the bow was damaged, with a depression of approximately 3.5 by 3 meters."

After the Korean captain finished translating, he looked around at everyone and confidently said, "Due to the incorrect anchoring and drifting collision of the 'Yuzhang' ship, my ship should not be held responsible for this incident!"

The pilot is right outside, having just testified to the facts.

If we disregard maritime traffic rules and solely consider emotional perspectives, the Korean cargo ship is indeed the one struck; they bear no responsibility in this incident.

The second officer of the "Yuzhang" claimed yesterday that he called out multiple times to "Mi Yang," but "Mi Yang" did not respond or take any evasive measures, a position that is completely indefensible.

Firstly, Zhangjia Port's Traffic Control Center had people on duty at night, and they heard "Mi Yang" calling the "Yuzhang" cargo ship. There were several ships anchored at Float 30 and nearby at night, and the crew members of those ships also heard it over the radio.

Secondly, the second officer of the "Yuzhang" cargo ship discovered the anchor shift at 1:15 a.m. yesterday, claiming "Yangmi" was moving towards them, but in fact, it was their ship that lost control and collided with the other. When discovered, the two ships were already very close, as the Korean captain said, the collision was unavoidable, regardless of any measures taken.

The reason for the calls with no response from either side was purely a language barrier.

The "Yuzhang" ship is a commercial ship under Zhonghai, running coastal routes, and the second officer and on-duty sailor do not understand English, calling the Korean cargo ship in Mandarin, which the Korean ship's crew couldn't comprehend.

The on-duty crew of the "Yangmi" cargo ship noticed "Yuzhang" drifting in anchor towards them and immediately called for danger, but the Chinese crew on the "Yuzhang" ship couldn't understand either, resulting in a situation like "chickens talking to ducks."

However, judging from the timeline, even if they could understand each other, it would be of no help. Because when the crew of both ships discovered the danger, it was already too late to take evasive actions.

In short, the investigation situation is extremely unfavorable to the "Yuzhang" ship.

President Tang frowned deeply, hesitating to speak.

Director Liu glanced at the Korean captain and then at President Tang, sighing quietly.

Han Xiangning, uncaring of anything, looked up and asked in English, "Captain, when will your statement be submitted?"

"We can do it now. Here is our statement."

"Alright, you may leave."

"Thank you."

It was evident that the Korean captain placed great importance on professional honor.

To participate in the investigation, he wore a sharply pressed captain's outfit, managed his appearance well, politely handed the statement to Han Xiangning, and then donned his wide-brimmed hat, slightly bowed to everyone, and finally strode confidently out of the interrogation room.

In contrast, the Chinese captain seemed somewhat unruly, which may have some connection to the declining social status of sailors in recent years.

A decade or so ago, being a sailor was quite a good profession domestically. Not to mention, their salary was several times higher than working onshore, and the ability to buy imported goods made many envious.

Han Yu couldn't help but feel emotional, as the representatives of the Korea Ship Company and the Korea Shipowners' Mutual Protection Association also stood up to bid farewell to Han Xiangning, Director Liu, and others.

"Director Liu, Director Han, you can't just listen to what they're saying!" President Tang said urgently.

Before Director Liu could respond, Han Xiangning calmly said while organizing the paperwork, "President Tang, we won't just take their word for it; we only believe in the facts. The Korean side has submitted their statement; when will you submit yours?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Alright, it's almost midnight, go home and rest early."

After saying that, Han Xiangning left without acknowledging his junior, carrying a briefcase alongside Director Liu, Old Guan, Old Wu, and others as they walked out of the interrogation room.

President Tang was anxious, pulling Han Yu aside, asking, "Xiao Han, what do we do now?"

"What do you mean, what do we do?"

"How do we handle this accident!"

"You heard it just now, their attitude is very firm, insisting they have no responsibility for this accident, the Maritime Bureau won't even have the opportunity to mediate."

"I know mediation is unrealistic; I'm referring to the maritime investigation report."

"The investigation is ongoing, and the marine investigation report won't be out in less than a week."

Han Yu knew very well what President Tang was thinking. He looked outside meaningfully and said, "Whether the Korean ship is responsible isn't for you or them to decide. The Maritime Bureau needs to conduct a further investigation and present evidence that convinces both parties."

President Tang pressed on, "What kind of evidence?"

Han Yu checked the time on his phone and said casually, "I'm not sure yet either. You'll know by tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright, I'm counting on you."

"It's not a matter of counting on me; this is something I should do."

Han Yu had spoken this much, and President Tang felt embarrassed to ask further and could only leave worriedly for now.

Like the previous night, Han Xiangning went upstairs to have a closed-door meeting with Director Liu, Old Guan, Old Wu, and others, which lasted until almost midnight.

Han Yu handed over a helmet, yawned as he sat on the light motorcycle, and asked, "How did the discussion go?"

"What do you mean by how?"

"Is the Korean ship responsible?"

Water traffic management is different from land traffic management, especially in terms of collision avoidance. Determining responsibility can be unclear and is really difficult to define.

Han Xiangning didn't answer his question but instead sat on the bike, wrapped her arms around his waist, and said helplessly, "The Korean freighter definitely has responsibility, but the extent of it is debatable. More importantly, the Koreans must be convinced."

"What kind of responsibility?"

"Undoubtedly in terms of anchoring safety."

"Is there no responsibility for the Korean freighter departing from anchorage?"

"At that time, the 'Yuzhang' had already lost control. The tonnage of the 'Yuzhang' is several times that of the 'Yangmi.' If it didn't depart promptly, it would have been pushed downstream by the 'Yuzhang,' which could possibly lead to capsizing or colliding with other ships."

Han Xiangning took a deep breath and continued, "Moreover, when departing, the pilot was on board, and after the collision, a series of measures were taken, to which the pilot had no objections."

The pilot was from the Yangtze River Pilot Center and was also an experienced captain.

In other words, there was no problem with the departure itself; it's unrealistic for Zhonghai to make a big deal out of the Korean freighter's departure.

While Han Yu was contemplating how to prove that the Korean freighter was also responsible, Han Xiangning leaned on his shoulder and asked, "San'er, Zhonghai could be considered your old unit too; do you really want to help Zhonghai?"

"Today's Zhonghai is not the Marine Bureau of the past; it's not really my old unit."

"What do you mean?"

"Zhonghai was formed from the East Sea Shipping Bureau, Dalian Shipping Company, and Guangzhou Shipping Company; the Marine Bureau is just a part of it."

Han Yu let out a light sigh and continued, "But on the other hand, Zhonghai is indeed quite struggling. It's been less than two years since restructuring, and although it's said to have assets over 25 billion yuan, it's actually a mess."

Han Xiangning, unfamiliar with these issues, curiously asked, "How bad is it?"

"Very bad, extremely bad, with so much debt. They mainly rely on coastal transport of oil and coal assigned by the superior authorities. The passenger transport business declines year by year, and ocean-going business is just a supplement to coastal transport. You know what my old colleagues said when I used to work on the ships?"

"What did they say?"

"They're just waiting for the company to sell ships; selling one ship would pay their salary for a few months. Without selling ships, there's no money to pay them."

"Relying on selling ships to get by?" Han Xiangning asked in astonishment.

"The problem is, despite having quite a few ships, the average ship age is 14.5 years, and most have a carrying capacity of only around 10,000 tons, so they can't be sold for much!"

"Don't they have ocean-going business?"

"The ocean-going business hasn't been running for many years, and they don't have an international business network. I've heard they're risking everything by betting on ocean-going container transport. Perhaps they made some money from chartering a few container ships for foreign trade back in the day, and now they want more of that success."

"Risking everything!"

"It's a desperate measure; what else can they do."

"No wonder their ships aren't part of China Ship Protection; if they were, President Tang wouldn't be so anxious now."

China Ship Protection refers to the China Shipowners Mutual Protection Association.

The Shipowners' Mutual Protection Association is also called a P & I Association, somewhat like the farmers' mutual aid cooperative that didn't succeed back in the day. Essentially, for each ship, members pay into the fund, and if an accident occurs, the association provides indemnity, even handling lawsuits, sharing risks in simple terms.

It looks similar to commercial insurance, but in fact, it's not commercial insurance. It's not even regulated by the insurance regulatory commission, operating outside the legal framework of the insurance industry.

It's worth mentioning that while the Shipowners' Mutual Protection Association claims to be non-profit, the fees aren't cheap. Sometimes members are even required to pay additional fees, which is why many coastal freighters aren't members, and inland river freighters aren't even within the association's service scope.

Furthermore, China Ship Protection was initiated by Cosco, making it essentially Cosco's association. All ships under Cosco are members. Shipping companies like Zhonghai would think, 'Joining would just mean sending you money to share your fleet's risks.'

In summary, when there's no incident, it seems unnecessary to join, but once something happens, they regret not joining.

Thinking of this, Han Yu sighed, "The company is state-owned; if there were money, Zhonghai's leadership would surely have all its ships become members. The issue is there's no money, and there's nothing that can be done without money."

Han Xiangning, feeling sympathetic towards Zhonghai, which is in difficulties, whispered, "You should think of a way to help them."

"I've called Master Xi; the flood notification will be sent over first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright, once the flood notification arrives, I'll gather everyone for a meeting again."