.Chapter 3 is by no means a coincidence

Although it is an ocean freighter, the dinner is very rich.

Like on the warship, the freighter has two restaurants, one serving the captain, the first mate, the second mate, the commander of the pilot, the navigator and the commander of the commander of the commander of the commander of the warship, and the other serving ordinary crew members.

Because fresh food was supplemented in Alexandria and will arrive in Mumbai in a few days, the chef prepared dinner strictly according to the recipe. The main dishes were steak and turkey, as well as vegetable salad and fruit platters. In the crew restaurant, all the food was placed on the table and was taken by the crew themselves. In the high-end restaurant, the chef carefully prepared more delicious dishes for the captain and others according to the designated recipes.

There are fifteen minutes left for dinner, except for the two crew members on duty at the bridge and the cabin, the rest of the crew members are in the restaurant.

Although this cargo ship, which has been in the 18th year of flight, is not very advanced, and is not very automated, and cannot be unattended, if necessary, two crew members can complete the necessary operations.

For crew members who have lived at sea for a long time, dinner is the most amazing time to miss.

During this half hour, the crew can put down their heavy work and enjoy delicious food, and talk about things that are not related to the sailing, such as their family, their plans for the future, etc. After dinner, one-third of the crew will start busy work at night, one-third of the crew will go to bed, and the rest will go to the entertainment room, the fitness center, and pass the next few hours.

A ship sailing alone on the sea is a small society.

Although there are only more than 30 members in this society, they come from different places, speak different accents, and have different beliefs.

Eric knew these people very well because he was the captain who controlled the course and the supreme monarch on the ship.

But Eric didn't eat this supper easily.

After the chef brought the food, several uninformed subordinates started to discuss the matter of not staying to wait for the fleet, but passing alone through the Gulf of Aden.

Without Eric's instructions, the first mate Gerald locked the hatch.

"Everyone, everyone!" Gerald came back and sat down, knocked on the table, stopping the discussion. "We should listen to the captain before we make an opinion."

Everyone's eyes focused on Eric, hoping that the captain could give a reasonable explanation.

"You have been working on this boat for several years," Eric glanced at several of his men, pointed at the chief steward who was sitting on the bottom of the left, and said, "Spielberg, if I remember correctly, you were the last one to come to this boat. It has been three years now, right?"

The chief officer with the same name as a major director smiled and said, "Three years and seven months."

"Very well, that is, we all know each other very well. You all know that before becoming the captain of the Trident, I served in the Navy for eleven years and received several medals." Eric paused for a moment and said, "I can't tell you why I had to enter the Gulf of Aden alone. All I can say is that there are very important reasons for doing this. In more than ten hours, we will leave the sea where pirates often appear, and safety will be strongly guaranteed. I hope that nothing will happen during this period. I also

I hope you will do your duty and do your essential work well. Don’t ask so many whys, and don’t let the crew members in your department ask so many whys. After arriving in Mumbai, the Trident will stay on the boat for twelve hours, and the crew will have to stay on the boat. Without my permission, no one can get ashore. Then in Singapore, Manila and Kaohsiung, the stay will not be too long, and the crew will all stay on the boat. After arriving in Busan, I will give you three days to freely move, so that everyone can enjoy the Korean delicacies, including the gentle and obedient Korean women.”

Several people laughed. The boring and monotonous seasonings for sailing life, besides the food, are the beauties not on the boat.

"Okay, everyone, do you still have any questions?"

"Captain, can you pay half of your salary in advance after arriving in Busan?" asked the chief engineer.

"Paul, I only paid my salary last month, and you spent it all again?" said the second deputy.

"There's no way. Who told me that I was very energetic and there were so many women to deal with?"

"When you arrive in Busan, what you need most is not money, but Viagra."

"Come on, I definitely don't need that thing before I was sixty." Paul rolled up his sleeves and did a bodybuilder's movement. "With this strong muscle, even a woman can handle it with it."

...

Seeing his subordinates joking, Eric smiled, closed his eyes, and began to pray before meals. Because he was born in a Catholic family, he was a very devout Catholic. He lived at sea for more than ten years and visited hundreds of ports, and Eric's faith has never wavered.

Before he could open his eyes, the freighter vibrated slightly.

The cabin immediately became quiet, and then everyone felt that the freighter was slowing down.

Gerald first reacted, stepped to the door, picked up the phone hanging on the wall, and asked the crew member who was on duty in the cabin, "What's going on?"

Eric looked at him, and the others looked at him.

Putting down the microphone, Gerald said to Eric: "Engine No. 1 has failed and has been shut down. The system will automatically switch to the linked working state."

"What is the current speed?"

"The twelve knots are already the maximum speed that can be achieved."

"Go to the cabin immediately and call all the crew members of the Turbine Department." Eric gave a command to the Engineer Baolu, and then said to Gerald, "You go there too, find out the cause of the fault, I'll come here immediately."

Without the captain's instructions, after Gerald and Paul left, several other department heads also stood up and left.

He called Lynch who was staying in the captain's room, and Eric immediately rushed to the cabin.

There are two high-power diesel engines on the ship, each driving a pair of propellers when sailing at full speed. If you sail at economic speed, two pairs of propellers will be driven by one engine in a coordinated manner.

When Eric arrived, Paul and two crew members were lying under the engine, and Gerald stood aside, with several crew members from the turbine department nearby.

"Has the fault been found?"

Gerald looked back at the captain and said, "The transmission shaft broke, and fortunately the emergency braking system played a role, otherwise the engine would be scrapped."

"Can it be fixed?"

"There is a spare drive shaft, but it will take at least four hours to replace the drive shaft." Gerald glanced at the crew and said, "Federer is still lying on the bed of the Naples Seaman's Hospital. It may take more time to rely on a few newbies."

Eric also glanced at the fair-faced crew members and felt very annoyed.

Federer is a Turbines engineer for the Trident and an old seafarer with more than ten years of work experience. However, he suffered from acute appendicitis before the ship left the port and had to stay in Naples.

At this time, there was a quarrel in the aisle, and the two crew members stopped Lynch who was about to enter the cabin.

"Stay here to help Paul and change the transmission shaft as soon as possible." After giving Gerald a command, Eric turned around and walked towards Lynch, and sent two crew members away.

"what is going on?"

"The engine has failed and a new transmission shaft must be replaced. Now sailing at economic speeds, it will take about four hours to restart the No. 1 main engine."

"What!?" Lynch looked very shocked.

"This is a very common fault, otherwise we wouldn't have prepared a drive shaft on the boat."

"Captain, do you think it's normal??"

Eric sighed and said, "Mr. Lynch, this is not a place to talk. You haven't had dinner yet? Let's go to the restaurant."

"Are you still in the mood for supper?"

"No matter what, only by replacing the transmission shaft can speed up. Replacing the transmission shaft takes time, and we can't help staying here, so we might as well use this time to fill our stomachs and discuss by the way, what methods can be used to get back the lost time."

Lynch wanted to say something, so Eric walked towards the restaurant and didn't talk to him anymore.

The two of them came to the restaurant, and Eric asked the chef to deliver the dinner specially prepared for Lynch, and then closed the hatch door.

"This is definitely not a malfunction!" Lynch didn't touch the steak that was a little scorched, and it seemed that he didn't have much appetite. "Eric, you have to believe me, this is definitely not a malfunction."

"What is that?" Seeing Lynch become so anxious, Eric's appetite increased significantly.

In other matters, Lynch took charge of it and did not give Eric any power, but when it comes to the matter on the ship, Lynch was nothing.

"Deliberate destruction is definitely deliberate destruction!" Lynch said as he took out a cigarette.

When he was lighting the cigarette, his hands kept trembling and tried several times before lighting it.

Seeing Lynch's panic, Eric frowned and said, "Mr. Lynch, no matter what you think, this is indeed an accident. In two years, the 'Trident' will be sold to the shipyard. For this freighter who is in its twilight age, it is already very good to maintain its current state. I have arranged the best engineers to try to replace the transmission shaft in the shortest time, so you don't have to worry, we will grab the lost time back."

"No, it's not like this!" Lynch sucked two puffs of cigarettes, and after his mood calmed down a little, he said, "This is definitely not a coincidence, it's not such a coincidence."

"Coincidence?" Eric showed a puzzled look, feeling that Lynch still had a lot of things to tell him.

"Captain, you should know that there are more than 30 warships from more than ten countries in the Gulf of Aden. Among them, there are two warships from China." Lynch hesitated for a moment and said, "If the escort arrangements are not changed, the two Chinese warships will meet with the fleet before dawn, escort the fleet through Socotra Island and leave the Gulf of Aden."

"The cargo on the ship is related to China?"

Lynch smiled bitterly and said, "It's not just goods."

"what else?"

Lynch did not answer Eric's question and reiterated: "In another ten hours, we will enter the cover of the 'Roosevelt', but we have a problem at this gate. It is definitely not a coincidence. Someone must have deliberately destroyed the transmission shaft to slow down our speed."

"Impossible, on board..."

Eric just spoke, and the gunshots from outside proved that this was not just Lynch's guess, but the fact.
Chapter completed!