Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

June 18, 2003, Laiyang Group headquarters.

A large number of reporters gathered, and countless flashes of light went off.

"Fellow journalists, welcome to the headquarters of Laiyang Group. Today is a special day as Laiyang Group proudly launches its 180,000-ton bulk carrier!" Yang Xue stood on the platform, looking at the reporters below: "Laiyang Group loves to embrace challenges! What others can't do, Laiyang Group can do! We promise that this brand-new bulk carrier can sail normally in gale-force winds and waves!"

This is a slap in the face!

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries built a bulk carrier that sank, and then blamed it on God. Later, it was exposed that they had used counterfeit steel, and only then did they have to come out and awkwardly bow and apologize.

Our Laiyang Group has the technology. The bulk carriers we've launched have increased from 100,000 tons to 180,000 tons. With higher tonnage comes higher requirements for ship strength! No shipyard in the world dares to easily undertake the construction of bulk carriers over 100,000 tons.

Laiyang Group dares to do it!

"Because bulk carriers have a large compartment structure and the deck cannot be reinforced, we use a large amount of our high-strength steel in the load-bearing parts of the ship! This type of steel can significantly improve the overall strength of the ship, which will of course increase the cost. However, we don't care. The extra cost will be borne by our group. We want to make our own contribution to the safety of world shipping!"

A round of applause followed.

"At the same time, in order to improve the economic efficiency of bulk carriers, we have also made special designs. These bulk carriers can also be easily modified into container ships when needed!"

Different ships carry different types of cargo. Oil tankers with large bellies can only carry oil, while LNG ships with special insulation designs can only carry natural gas. This results in a limited range of cargoes being transported, and the return trip is often empty. If the cargo being transported suddenly becomes less popular, there may be no business to do.

Therefore, ship owners all hope that their ships can carry a variety of cargo.

However, due to the different structure, it is not easy to modify.

Now, Laiyang Group has come up with an innovation!

Bulk carriers have large compartments at the bow. The dimensions of these compartments are precisely calculated so that they can hold containers, which can then be stacked on the deck! In this way, bulk carriers are transformed into container ships.

Bulk carriers, which were originally only able to transport bulk cargo, such as ore and grain, can be transformed into container ships when these bulk cargoes are unsaleable!

This kind of ship is sure to sell like hotcakes!

"Finally, let's introduce the product standards of our Laiyang Group. As we know, there are many product standards. Take Dongfang as an example, there are national standards, industry standards, and enterprise standards. These standards are constantly being improved. Our Laiyang Group's products are exported and are labeled according to national standards. However, in reality, our products strictly adhere to our own enterprise standards, which are more than 15% higher than national standards!"

It's like a school that requires students to get up at 6:30 in the morning, but at the grade level, the grade head will require them to get up at 6:20, earlier than other grades, so we slow birds have to get up early! And in a specific class, the homeroom teacher might require their students to get up at 6:10.

The same applies to standards. National standards are the lowest, industry standards are higher, and enterprise standards are the highest. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, some companies may join together to set their own industry standards, which are then set to be even lower.

Laiyang Group has its own standards, which are much higher than national standards, and its exported products can definitely meet the same standards!

“Excellent! We trust Laiyang Group’s technology! Our Far East Transportation Company will order ten ships at once!” a voice rang out from below.

Far East Transport Company mainly operates on the iron ore transportation route. Its owner is Qin Chuan's uncle. No one dares to mess with them on this route. Now that Guinea's iron ore mining volume is increasing, their transportation capacity is severely insufficient. Now that Laiyang Group has launched a brand-new bulk carrier, they will naturally support it!

"Our Eastern Shipping Company will order twenty ships!" came the second person to chime in.

The Eastern Shipping Company is an official entity, and it's the main supplier of iron ore for various steel companies in China. Now, with the sinking of the MOMO, ships like it, manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries or using Kobe steel, dare not sail, fearing they'll be torn in two by the waves. The crew members are highly paid; they can endure loneliness and solitude, but asking them to risk their lives? Forget it!

Now, the number of bulk carriers has decreased significantly, but the business volume remains the same, which has led to a surge in freight rates. Now is the time to order bulk carriers as soon as possible. Whoever gets the ships first will reap the rewards!

At the scene, a European shipowner couldn't help but exclaim, "Our Hapag-Lloyd company will order two!"

"We, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, have ordered five!"

The moment that voice was uttered, the entire room erupted in uproar.

An island nation, a shipbuilding powerhouse! An industrial superpower! Now, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, the island nation's most famous shipping company, is actually ordering bulk carriers from the East! What does this signify?

Island nation shipbuilding industry is finished!

An island nation, Mitsubishi Group.

"What? Customer orders have dropped by more than 30%? What happened?" Sudo Mitsutoshi frowned and looked at Miyazawa Kenji.

"We don't know either. In any case, clients have been sending emails and letters demanding the cancellation of contracts," Kenji Miyazawa said.

Is there even a question? It's definitely a chain reaction caused by this shipwreck!

The shipbuilding industry is very special. Orders are usually booked for two or three years in advance. The advantage of this is that shipyards don't have to worry about anything, and the slipways and docks can operate at the highest efficiency. Shipbuilding is one of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' main shipbuilding businesses. Now, orders have plummeted, and the slipways may not be full by next year!

When that time comes, some of the shipyard's workers will need to be laid off! And if orders come in later, they'll need to train new workers, resulting in significant losses...

Kenji Miyazawa was certainly aware of all this, but... what could he do?

The East has launched an 180,000-ton bulk carrier! Their technology is very strong. If they say the ship is fine, it's definitely fine. Even Mitsubishi Heavy Industries wouldn't dare to build such a large bulk carrier unless... they source steel plates from the East!

Island nations have advanced heavy industry; when did it become their turn to pick up the leftovers from the East? Thinking of this, Kenji Miyazawa became extremely annoyed.

"President, President!" Just then, someone suddenly ran in: "Our Mitsubishi SUV has a brake defect, which caused a traffic accident in the United States..."

Mitsutoshi Sudo stood up: "What? Braking defect? ​​Didn't we already have a recall?"

"Yes, but I don't know why..."

"damn it!"