Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 1131 - 22: Looks Familiar!

It turns out that those engaged in smuggling at sea are very cunning.

When the Fishery Administration Ship arrived at the waters where the smuggling gang was transshipping cigarettes at night, the smuggling vessel had long disappeared.

Han Yu felt a bit frustrated, and the customs officer and border inspection station soldiers who came with Han Yu were even more frustrated, looking at the vast ocean, without even the mood to eat breakfast.

Deputy Captain Shen was unfazed, sipping porridge while advising: "Don't be discouraged, didn't several guys get caught last night? They know the contacts of their upstream. The guys on the ship might escape, but they can't run forever unless they never return home."

"Uncle Shen, it's not as simple as you think."

"What do you mean?"

"Those caught are just small fry; those on the ship might also be just underlings. The real boss wouldn't easily show up. As for the contacts we have now, I suspect they're useless."

"Cracking down on smuggling is a long-term task. As long as there's trade, there will be smuggling, and it's tough to eradicate."

Deputy Captain Shen pointed to the sea outside the porthole, thought for a moment, and added: "Don't just talk about high profits of smuggling; even with fishing at sea, the Superior has issued multiple orders demanding fishermen not block the waterway, but do they listen?"

Han Yu asked instinctively: "Uncle Shen, do you have a mission?"

Deputy Captain Shen said helplessly: "Marine Supervision just contacted us, saying another cargo ship collided with a fishing boat."

...

Though they came up empty-handed, going back wasn't an option.

The Fishery Administration had its task; Han Yu could only follow the ship to rescue the fishing boat involved in the maritime traffic accident.

The conflict between fishing rights and shipping rights is vividly portrayed outside the Yangtze River estuary. Fishing boats, fearing their nets would be damaged by cargo ships, firmly refused to give way.

The cargo ship was too late in changing course and crashed into the stern of the fishing boat.

The fishing boat capsized, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

The law enforcement boat from Marine Supervision had arrived earlier, and the fishermen were already transferred onto their ship.

According to regulations, when a fishing boat and a cargo ship have a traffic accident, the Fishery Administration and Marine Supervision must jointly investigate and handle it.

Deputy Captain Shen arranged for Fishery Administration enforcement officers to board the cargo ship for investigation and evidence gathering, and take statements from the cargo ship's captain, chief officer, second officer, and other crew members.

Then, fishermen were taken onboard the Fishery Administration Ship to give statements.

They were busy from 10:30 in the morning until 1:30 in the afternoon before finally being able to return.

Han Yu stood at the ship's bow, watching several fishermen squatting at the stern smoking, and curiously asked: "Uncle Shen, what happens next?"

"There are specialists handling it. First, determine accident responsibility, then provide compensation and go through insurance as required."

"Do fishing boats have insurance?"

"They do, but as you heard earlier, the fishing boats have more responsibility."

As a Fishery Administration enforcement officer, Deputy Captain Shen very much wants to help fishermen pursue their interests, but the fishermen indeed bear more responsibility in this accident, making him feel uneasy and sigh deeply.

Previously, commissioned by the Binjiang Agricultural Bureau, he gave lectures on maritime fishing operation safety to fishermen from Dongqi, Linghai, and Si Gang, but whether they listened or not is another matter.

Han Yu was silent for a moment and then murmured: "There are so many fishing boats. Even if you add up all the fishing boats from several countries worldwide, we still have more in China. Some places are desperately building more, yet the fish near shore are getting fewer and fewer; I really don't know what we're making so many fishing boats for."

"Making a living off the sea, it's not easy to change that mindset."

"Let's not talk about this, Uncle Shen. I'm a bit tired, I'm going to take a nap."

"Go ahead and sleep, I'll call you when we reach Wusong Port. We'll drop you off at the passenger terminal; you can take a high-speed ferry back. It's faster."

"Okay."

The Fishery Administration Ship was returning, and the Fishery Administration dock is located on Fuxing Island in the Huangpu River. Han Yu couldn't go to Fuxing Island, so he could only go to Wusong Pier to catch a high-speed ferry back to Binjiang.

Just as he reached the crew cabin door, he suddenly noticed a cargo ship of about 5,000 tons passing by in the distance.

"Salted Fish, what's up?"

"That ocean liner looks very familiar."

"Which one?"

"The one at the front, flying the Panamanian flag."

Deputy Captain Shen followed the direction of Han Yu's finger and watched for a while, then laughed and asked: "Do you suspect it's the mothership of the smuggled cigarettes?"

"No."

"Then what are you looking at?"

Han Yu found it increasingly strange and asked the deputy squad leader of the border inspection station, who came along to crack down on smuggling, to lend binoculars from the pilot station. While observing the cargo ship ahead, he explained: "The vessels operating in the river have features; as long as we look at the ship type, we know where the ship is from, which shipyard built it, and even which year it was launched."

This was quite normal.

It's not only water enforcement officers like Han Yu who know this, but also crew members who frequently navigate the river.

Deputy Captain Shen pursued and asked: "Do you recognize this Panamanian ship?"

"No, it can't be flying the Panamanian flag!"

"What's going on?"

"I recognize this ship. I even assisted Port Supervision in boarding and inspecting it. It's not an international trade ship, nor is it called by this name. If I remember correctly, it's a domestic trade ship from Hanwu Shipping Company."

"Did it change ownership and flag?"

Han Yu aimed the binoculars at the stern, observed the clearly new-painted ship name, and pondered: "Possibly."

Changing registration and running international trade isn't a big deal, but Deputy Captain Shen urged: "Hurry and go rest; you haven't slept all night."

...

Xu Haoran and Lin Xiaoqin settled down in Binjiang, got jobs, but they weren't truly Binjiang people yet.

This morning, led by police arranged by Director Wang, they went to the Port District Bureau to handle residency registration. The ID card would take a while to arrive, so they first got a temporary ID card.