127 : Goliath Crane
“There are only three perks I want.”
“Do you have three?”
“If you listen, you will understand. First of all, if I make a tank or truck with used parts I brought from Quy Nhon, the military has to buy it.”
“Oh, you bring in used parts. Then, by any chance, the introduction price is…”
“It is enough to receive about 70% of the new product.”
“Oh, then of course you should buy it. There is no such thing as a privilege.”
Vice Minister Yeom smiled cheerfully and promised to buy it.
If I make it, there will be no problem with the quality, and the price will be 70%, so the government will welcome it.
“Even if Vice Minister Yeom thinks so, you have to make it stipulated. First of all, you have to buy something so that I can run a defense business.”
“Don’t worry. Then what about the second one? As long as I can produce M16 parts, I will do anything.”
Vice Minister Yeom had a confident expression.
It was clear that he had reached an agreement with the Minister of Commerce and Industry in advance.
“Second, when the government builds warships in the future, please designate Daesei as the preferred bidder. I have invested a lot, but if I choose another company, it will be very difficult.”
“Isn’t that natural? Honestly, is there any other company that makes warships or tanks other than the mainstream?”
why not A lot will happen in the future.
The speed of development of our country was imaginable.
“Still, please make it explicit. That way, you can invest with confidence.”
“That is no problem either. I think it’s a trend to think of warships as well. What is the last perk?”
Vice Minister Yeom thinks of warship production as something in the distant future, but even in the mid-1970s, warships will be ordered one after another.
“The last is the concession to the coastal continental shelf.”
“Jo Kwang-kwon, what is that?”
At this time, Korean officials may not even have the concept of concession rights.
“Concession rights refer to the right to explore and mine oil. Don’t I have some exchanges with Galpsa? They said there is a possibility that oil fields could be found on the coast near our country.”
He requested concession rights that had been delayed.
Currently, Hoffman has almost finished repairing the drilling rig, and obtaining mining rights from the government was the first step before calling the classification society and receiving hull certification.
After that, it’s either exploration or gas extraction.
“Oil? Do we have oil fields in our country?”
“There is a possibility on the continental shelf side of the East and South Seas.”
“okay? How much oil will there be?”
“Nobody knows until they dig. But you should try. Foreign companies are interested, but shouldn’t Korean companies do exploration first?”
“What privilege is that? Of course, it is a thousand times better for the general public to sell our land than for a foreign company to sell our land.”
“I think so too. But there’s no guarantee of discovering the oil, so some might think it’s better to sell the concession to a foreign company. That’s when the dollars come in.”
“Ah, a traitor would say that. And honestly, if it becomes a trend, who will stop it?”
Vice Minister Yeom seems to think that the general public can do anything.
Even arranging drilling facilities is not easy.
It is only possible because I have Hoffman.
“Thank you for thinking so. Anyway, please give us the right to concession. I would like to explore the sea off Ulsan and the distant sea of Jeju Island.”
“Have you prepared where to explore? You must have been busy just taking care of the steel mill and shipyard.”
“Not ready. I was just thinking.”
“Anyway, it’s amazing. I’m busy doing the right thing in front of my eyes. ha ha ha.”
“Vice Minister Yeom, if you go to Seoul, please take care of the concession rights first among the three. You will have to enact the relevant laws and regulations necessary for approval. Since the right to explore the continental shelf is an international issue, prior consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be necessary. Here are the relevant documents.”
“Huh, was there such an international law?”
Vice Minister Yeom was surprised to see the documents I gave him.
The document was a continental shelf rule prepared at an international conference on the law of the sea.
It was proposed at the Geneva Conference in 1958 and announced in 1962, so it is a very hot international law.
This was also acquired through the Pacific Freight Alliance.
Oil exploration was also closely related to the shipping industry.
According to the obtained continental shelf regulations, the exclusive development rights of coastal countries were recognized for underwater underground resources up to tens of 200 meters.
This legal basis was an international law that was very favorable to our Republic of Korea.
Since the category of coastal countries is based on inhabited islands excluding uninhabited islands, if Jeju Island is the starting point, Block 7 near Japan also becomes our territory entirely.
Originally, in history, Korea made a related law in 1970 to claim exclusive sea areas, but since then, it has been about two years earlier.
In addition, now that the Korean government is maintaining the peace line in the Korea-Japan Agreement, it was a more advantageous situation to assert sovereignty over the 7th sector.
In the original history, the discovery of oil fields in Alaska in the United States and the discovery of oil fields in the North Sea in Norway led to an oil exploration boom all over the world in the 1970s.
Because I will soon find a gas field off the coast of Ulsan, and Block 7 is the most meaningful place for oil exploration in East Asia.
“Hmm, that’s a really good rule for our country. Anyway, is there a justification for Daesae’s concession? If someone attacks you for preferential treatment, you have to be able to defend yourself.”
“The cause is sufficient. First of all, an oil exploration drilling rig is an offshore plant, so it is a kind of shipbuilding. Besides, isn’t it related to the defense industry? Oil is a business that should be attempted even at the risk of failure from the perspective of energy sovereignty, that is, national security.”
“okay. It is a business area of the mainstream shipbuilding, and it is connected to the defense industry. The justification will suffice.”
“Yes that’s right.”
Honestly, if the government approves mining concessions, investors will flock to it in droves.
As soon as I discovered the Donghae gas field.
“I will do it. In summary, the right to trade used weapons, the right to operate warships in the future, and the concession right to the coastal continental shelf. Is that all?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you do, we will start the defense industry by investing precision processing machines, measuring instruments, and experts. It’s about the M16 so you can make it in six months if you want to.”
“Six months?”
“Why don’t you believe it?”
“no. If it was President Woo, I would do it. However, I will not report that to the Blue House.”
Perhaps because Vice Minister Yeom has been working with me for a long time, his eyes to read the market have increased considerably.
“Yes. I will only trust Vice Minister Yeom. I will see you when the government declares continental shelf sovereignty and the National Assembly passes the Submarine Mineral Resources Act.”
“Aha, that’s a signal. Then, you must be busy at the shipyard, so let’s go.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work. Next time I will go to Seoul.”
I saw Vice Minister Yeom off and headed back to the field.
It was a steel pre-processing plant, a small assembly plant, and there was a lot of work to be done.
***
a few days later,
“Boss, the meeting of West German technicians is ready.”
“Finally, today is the day.”
It was the day of a technical meeting with the West German PHB company, which was in charge of manufacturing our Goliath crane.
I looked at the materials sent by air in advance, but the nuances were obvious.
A crane with a maximum weight of 1,000 tons is ridiculous, and the point was to raise the maximum weight to 450 tons somehow.
“Nice to meet you. My name is CS Woo.”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Numan Graf, PHB Technical Manager.”
PHB’s team leader and engineers also came in droves and introduced themselves.
Seeing that there were five engineers, it felt like they were trying to suppress them with their number.
If you just listen to me out of courtesy, the time will be endless.
“Team leader Graf, ask the staff to talk and take a walk with me.”
“Yes? A walk before the meeting?”
“We fight well when we are away. Let’s leave the technical debate to the working staff.”
I didn’t have to convince everyone.
The target was enough for the team leader.
“Oh, I see.”
At the word that the working-level staff fought well, team leader Graf robbed his seat and stood up.
I showed him the yard construction site.
The more he showed it, the more surprised he became.
I knew it as a new shipyard, but I wouldn’t have expected it to have been built like this already.
“There is a steel pre-processing plant, and this is a small assembly plant. It opened the other day at the same time. Standing on the other shore is a loading dock crane that can lift and move 50-ton blocks. Here in docks 1 and 2, the progress has roughly exceeded 30%. Now is the time for the crane to come in.”
“I heard it’s a new shipyard…”
Are you talking about what this is all about?
“All built in three months.”
“Six months? That… is that possible?”
Team leader Graf’s eyes, which were already protruding, looked as if they would pop out at any moment.
“Available. We are fighting right now. This shipyard is a 170 million dollar gamble. If this gamble fails, our company and Korea as a whole will be rocked.”
My words were not lies.
Currently, Korea’s foreign currency reserves are less than hundreds of millions of dollars, and even this year’s export target was only 470 million dollars.
In the meantime, will the country be safe if 170 million dollars goes bad? It was not something that could be solved by being dragged into the courtyard alone.
“You take such a big gamble, but what if even the crane gambles? Forget cranes with a maximum weight of 1000 tons. Even other first-class shipyards are doing well enough with 450 tons.”
“If I am satisfied with 450 tons, I will be treated as a third-rate shipyard forever. With that kind of equipment, you’ll be busy chasing first-class shipbuilding. Even if it’s a gamble, I want to win the competition by investing in first-class facilities. The 1,000-ton goliath crane will be our greatest weapon.”
Perhaps it was not easy to refute my words, Team Leader Graf opened his mouth after thinking for a while.
“We have a responsibility to provide proven equipment to our customers. The crane with a maximum weight of 450 tons is the latest type verified in advanced shipyards such as West Germany, Japan, Belgium, England and Sweden. If you are a new shipyard, you should start with that.”
As a equipment manufacturer, I have to be conservative.
It wasn’t something I couldn’t understand.
“Look at our dock. It is a super-large dock measuring over 600 meters in length by 80 meters in width. If you move and assemble a block that weighs only 450 tons there, you can’t use that dock 100%. We definitely need a 1000 ton crane. Please verify through us. I will help you.”
“Help me?”
“What other lunatic besides our company would test a 1000-ton crane?”
At my words, team leader Graf put on an absurd expression.
However, that expression gradually changed to serious.
What if a 1000-ton crane succeeds? A thought would have popped into my head.
“I understand what you mean. However, we cannot increase the maximum weight without any grounds. Considering the design model test and steel characteristics, the maximum weight to try is 900 tons.”
900 tons was just double the 450 tons.
It is said that they have experimented with models up to 900 tons.
“A maximum weight of 900 tonnes almost meets my criteria. Let’s make it with that spec.”
“If there is an accident…”
“There is no accident. I will help you.”
“Help me?”
21st century heavy engineering engineers help.
I’ve never done this once or twice, so don’t make that face.
“The unit price of the crane is also 15 million dollars.”
It is a large sum of money worth 4 billion won in Korean money.
At this time, most of the cranes cost about 2.5 billion, so the price was raised by as much as 60%.
As a team leader, it would be a difficult unit price to refuse.
“If you are helping me, I have to decide on the exterior specifications first. Could you provide your specifications?”
Hey, are you going to take the exam right away?
That was an easy question.
“Let’s make it 104m high and 206m wide. The maximum lift height is 91 m. Let’s assume that the material is high-strength carbon steel that satisfies the yield strength of 400 MPa and the total weight is 5500 tons.”
I lined up the specifications of the crane with the maximum weight of 900 tons in the 21st century.
“Uh… if you design it that way… ok, the numbers seem appropriate. However…”
“Are there any more concerns? tell me.”
“Assuming you are lifting a 900-ton block, you need to set the crane’s tolerance for deformation. Without the supporting data, no one will approve. Neither my company nor the insurance company will reject it, and export approval will not be granted.”
yes that is correct no one is in charge
“Let’s set and design the permissible limit so that 1m can be bent from the center of the brace and the column can swing 1m from side to side. Considering the strong wind of 50m per second, I will approve if you give me the model test data.”
“… you really want to approve on that condition?”
“sure. As long as that condition is satisfied, I will not file a lawsuit even if it is damaged while using it.”
There is no reason to sue.
If it’s that spec, there’s no problem even if you use it for 10 or 20 years. It has been proven in practical use in the 21st century.
“Are you serious?”
“Does it look like I’m joking, boss? Then, I will make it without making any noise.”
“Ah, one more thing left. Receipt needs to be coordinated. It will take another six months.”
“What is it? Don’t you have all the ingredients?”
“It’s not that, it’s not that easy to make a pillar with the specifications you mentioned. Isn’t that a special steel column over 100m tall?”
This gentleman is very strict.
No, because I was strict, I rather believed in it.
When I think about doing a job, I pack a lot of things.
“I’ll get the columns, so go back to headquarters and build the rest of the crane. It will cost 5 million dollars for the pillar, so let’s set the equipment price at 10 million dollars.”
“What… Where do you get the pillars from?”
“Where are you? You can bring it from America.”
“Woo boss. You seem to be mistaken, but there is no such column even if you search any crane manufacturer in the world, not just in the US.”
“It is not only crane manufacturers who make pillars, so stop worrying and make the rest according to specifications.”
It could be through Van Flint or Nancy.
Because the 100m pillar will be abandoned like a Moss Ball warship.