The sinking was just the beginning.
The bulk warehouse of the Immovable Mountain was filled to the brim with 70,000 tons of semi-finished concrete.
As for why 70,000 tons of concrete had been dry-mixed on the ship and mixed evenly with seawater corrosion-resistant quick-setting powder, no one knew the reason.
The Immovable Mountain plunged into the harbor.
The concrete edges of the harbor quickly cracked, and one of the cranes standing on the shore was knocked down by the huge tremors. This crane was closest to the bow of the Immovable Mountain. After it fell, the crane beside it was also affected.
The Immovable Mountain's entire hull was flattened. After the collision, the thrusters continued to operate for a few minutes before stopping amidst thick black smoke.
It was also these few minutes of power output that allowed the Immovable Mountain to move from its original vertical position to a level with the harbor, occupying both docks without deviation.
Seawater quickly poured into the hold of the ship, and the dark brown semi-finished concrete flowed out of the damaged areas like crazy. As soon as it met the seawater, it was like sealant meeting air, rapidly expanding into a semi-solid state.
Two minutes later, the personnel working at the harbor hurriedly ran over.
These people stood on the shore of the harbor, their limbs trembling and their faces grief-stricken.
Two of their four treasured cranes had actually fallen. This kind of loss made them extremely pained. Port Pierce only had a total of four cranes, and it was these four cranes that were responsible for 60% of the State of Rigavia's imports and exports.
The main arms and fuselage of the two collapsed cranes had been severely deformed.
Not to mention that Rigavia didn't have the technical ability to repair them, even if the crane manufacturers came, they would most likely shake their heads and persuade them to buy new products.
"Damn it, damn it." The liaison officer from the lookout crouched by the harbor and shouted, "A single crane costs millions of US dollars, and now two have fallen. What are we going to do about our barley exports in April?"
"Which company's ship is this?" Another port staff member screamed at the top of his lungs, "Make them pay, pay in full!"
"Not only pay for the cranes, but also repair the harbor."
His voice echoed powerlessly on the edge of the harbor.
"Gurgle ~"
A huge bubble appeared in the seawater below as a response to his complaint.
In their eyes, the deck of the giant ship had sunk to a level with the harbor. Below the waterline were violently churning bubbles. It was accompanied by a strong stain and smell.
"Damn it, what's on this ship?"
"Where's the tugboat? Hurry up and drag it away from here. If it sinks, we'll be in big trouble. "
"Gulp ~"
"Gurgle ~ Gurgle ~"
When the six tugboats circled around the ship, most of the ship had already sunk into the water.
The height of a huge ship was usually twenty to thirty meters. The Immovable Like Mountain was twenty-seven meters tall. The water depth of Port Pierce was about 30 meters.
By the time the people on the six tugboats wanted to attach the mooring rope to the hull of the ship, The Motionless Mountain had already sunk completely into the water and was sitting on the seabed. When the searchlight shone into the water, all that could be seen was a thick layer of grey.
Cold, completely cold.
The task of salvaging a 10,000-ton ship had always been a world-class problem.
These people who worked at the port were very clear about the ways in which this was done. Two years ago, there was a 30,000-ton cargo ship that sank on the main route of the Dover Strait. Several European countries worked together and spent a full 18 months to cut the cargo ship into eight sections and salvage them in batches.
The cost of salvaging the ship was close to 100 million USD.
Even South Korea, which had the second most developed shipbuilding industry in the world, was powerless to salvage the entire cruise ship that sank in four years.
That cruise ship was only about 10,000 tons.
Now, an even larger ship that could carry 70,000 tons of cargo was lying in their port, completely sealing off the berth.
How many sections did they have to cut this ship into? How much money did they have to spend? How much time did they have to spend to salvage it?
No, this money should not be paid by them.
According to the port records, the sunken cargo ship in front of them belonged to Spain's Felix Shipping Group. The cargo reported before entering the port was sand and stone used for construction.
This was similar to the turbid objects in the sea. But this was not important. What was important was that Felix Shipping Group was a large shipping group in Spain. They were fully capable of paying for everything here.
Thinking of this, the port staff immediately reported the situation and contacted the outside world.
The State of Rigavia was a small country. Now that something earth-shattering had happened, of course, the situation had to be reported directly to the parliament and the president's office. In addition, the matter of seeking compensation from Felix Shipping Group had to be discussed with the president first.
…
When the news reached the parliament building, all the staff in the building almost exploded.
The president, who was immersed in his sweet dream with the UA, was awakened from his bed by his secretary. When he heard the news, he did not even bother to wash his face and rushed to the port by helicopter.
The helicopter landed next to the two collapsed cranes. The president witnessed the tragic scene of Port Pierce being hit by a meteor and almost could not hold back his tears.
It's over, it's all over.
In half a month, the country's barley would be harvested. At that time, 90% of the country's barley would be shipped here.
What should I do? What should I do?
The turbid sea water and the pungent smell quickly woke the president up.
With red eyes, he asked the staff what exactly was on the sunken cargo ship.
The radio liaison said timidly, "According to … according to the report before entering the port, this cargo ship should have been loaded with construction sand and stone. But after we took a sample, we found that the cabin should be filled with concrete … "
Hearing this, the president's legs almost gave out and he collapsed on the ground.
"The concrete will … will it solidify in the sea?"
The person in charge of the port quickly explained, "We have urgently consulted the French construction company that built this port. They said that generally, after the concrete encounters the sea, it will not solidify in a short period of time. Because the sea will continue to soak the concrete, so the concrete will always be wet. "
"It will take about seven to ten days for the concrete sealed in the cabin to gradually solidify."
"But Mr. President, things are not as bad as you worry."
"The French construction company told us that ordinary concrete soaked in the sea will be constantly corroded by the sea. In about two to three years, the concrete will become cinders. "
"When our port was built, we added anti-corrosion cementitious materials in the concrete, so it will not be corroded by the sea."
The person in charge knew that he had an unshirkable responsibility for this, so before the president arrived, he called the French construction company and begged them to provide a remedy.
"Mr. President, the French side said."
"The concrete will gradually solidify in ten days at the latest. As long as we seize this time, use the high-pressure pump to constantly wash the concrete in the cabin, and then equip the pump truck on the shore to pump the concrete fluid out of the cabin, we can resolve this crisis. "
The president's pale face turned a little better. "How do we salvage the sunken ship?"
"This …" The person in charge hesitated. "It may take a year at the fastest."
The president was about to fly into a rage. Not far from the turbid sea, a man in a fully sealed diving suit suddenly appeared. After the man grabbed the boat, he took off his diving helmet and shouted toward the port in despair.
"Ah, not good."
"The concrete in this cargo ship, I don't know what it is mixed with. As soon as they meet the sea, they quickly solidify. "
"Not only the concrete in the cabin solidifies quickly, but the concrete that leaked from the damaged area also bonded with the bottom of the port."
After hearing the news, the person in charge of the port almost softened his legs.
His back was wet with sweat at this moment, and he did not dare to look at the president's eyes.
He was organizing his words in his heart, but he heard many people's panicked voices behind him.
"Mr. President, you … what's wrong with you?"
"Sir ~ Sir ~"
Suddenly turning his head, he saw that the president had already taken the first step and was sitting on the cold ground.
"It's over … It's over …"
"What should I do? All the barley in the country depends on this port to be transported away. Without the port, what should we do with our barley and other supplies … "
The president sat on the ground and talked to himself.
The people beside him hurriedly helped Mr. President up.
Someone comforted him and told him not to be too sad. No one could have expected such a thing to happen. The culprit behind all of this was the huge ship that had sunk.
Giant ship?
The president suddenly shouted angrily, "Where is the crew of this giant ship?"
"Run … Run away."
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