If you don't strive for improvement, if this accident leads to the suspension of Yangtze River Passenger Transport, causing several major Yangtze River Passenger Companies to close down and tens of thousands of employees to lose their jobs, can you bear this responsibility, and face over twenty thousand colleagues?

Han Yu looked at Vice Manager Zhang and the old Captain, who were gnashing their teeth in anger, and he wished he could slap the Chief Officer twice. Forcing down his rage, he asked, "Then what?"

"Through Daizi Island, one kilometer downstream from Daizi Island, I adjusted the course to 035, then heard on Channel 6 that there was a ship ready to cross the Yangtze River to anchor at the Wuyu Island anchorage."

"Did you call the other party, confirm the location, and discuss how to avoid each other?"

"I checked the radar and didn't see that ship. I called on the radio but received no response."

"What was the radar range at that time?"

"Four kilometers, I thought that ship was far away, so I switched the radar range to two kilometers, still didn't see it, and continued sailing."

He heard on the radio that there was a ship ahead crossing the Yangtze River, but seeing nothing on the radar and receiving no response from his calls, he didn't reduce speed and even overtook a downstream ship while maintaining the original speed.

At 6:16 PM that evening, upon navigating to buoy 9 at Wuyu Island and adjusting the course to 035 to continue downstream, he found on the radar near Zhangzi Port that there was an upstream ship crossing the Yangtze River from south to north, 2000 meters away.

Due to the large radar echo, he initially thought it was a fleet or an ocean liner.

He called on Channel 6 but still could not contact them.

At 6:18 PM, after passing buoy 2 at the Yihua anchorage, he found the other ship at 8 degrees to the port side, but when they were 1000 meters apart, the radar echo disappeared, leading him to believe it was a false echo, so he didn't observe the radar further.

By the time he rediscovered the ship, they were only 100 meters apart, with no time to avoid collision, and the two ships had a severe collision...

After Han Yu carefully questioned him about the measures taken upon discovery, the vehicle used, and whether the course was adjusted, he had the Changhang Bureau police escort the Chief Officer back to the crew cabin.

Vice Manager Zhang urgently asked, "Director Han, what do you think?"

"Not following traffic control instructions, speeding in fog, hearing that there was a ship crossing ahead, observing with the radar set to a four-kilometer range without detecting the target, and yet not using the radar correctly and continuously as required, instead switching the range to two kilometers. The ships were over two kilometers apart at that time, it was clearly stated on the radio, how could you observe anything at two kilometers!"

Taking a deep breath, Han Yu continued, "After detecting an echo a kilometer away, there was no heightened alert nor was the ship's movement announced, continuing to proceed rapidly downstream, missing the opportunity for safe avoidance."

Vice Manager Zhang turned to look at the old Captain.

The old Captain nodded helplessly.

Vice Manager Zhang became anxious, furrowing his brow and asking, "Is our responsibility significant?"

"If what the Chief Officer just said is true, then the other party also bears responsibility. He called several times without a response from the other side. As for who is more responsible, that will be determined after analysis of the further investigation results."

As Han Yu finished speaking, footsteps were heard from outside.

The three of them looked up to see that the Joint Investigation Team from the marine department and the local government had arrived.

...

PS: Many brothers and sisters do not understand why Salted Fish did not go to the ceremony. Let me explain here.

At that time, Yangtze River Passenger Transport was already in a downturn. Such an accident could lead to the cessation of Yangtze River cruises, and with several major Yangtze River Passenger Companies having more than twenty thousand employees, it was normal for Salted Fish, who came from the Port and Navigation System, to worry about the suspension of Yangtze River Passenger Transport.

Compared to attending a grand parade, this was a much bigger event for those who made their living on the Yangtze River.

Later, the Yangtze River Passenger Transport was completely suspended, and passenger ships were no longer seen on the river, causing tens of thousands of people to lose their jobs and countless families' lives to change…

Furthermore, at that time, the Changhang Police Bureau mainly handled the security of passenger terminals and cruise ships. With the suspension of cruises and the closure of passenger terminals, what would all those Changhang Police officers do?

For someone like Salted Fish, who had worked in the Changhang Police System, this issue was truly significant!