Mixed In the United States As a Local Tyrant

  Chapter 404 Queen No. 2

   "You still want to build a super cruise ship?" Roger heard the meaning.

   "I have some ideas." An Feng admitted, "I just don't know how many ports with a larger tonnage can call."

   It is no problem to build a large ship. There are 500,000 to 600,000 tons of giant freighters in the world, but unfortunately there are almost no ports that can call. The same is true for cruise ships. Super large tonnage is easy, but the problem lies in the pier.

  Cruise ships are different from cargo ships, and people cannot be loaded and unloaded like cargo, so more than 200,000 tons is already a limit, unless the world's ports continue to expand, which is even more unrealistic. Like the 100-meter race, the world record of cruise ships requires more and more precision.

  Roger shook his head: "It is difficult to get to the shore with a bigger estimate."

   "I think so too." An Feng yawned, "Honey, what do you think?"

   "It depends on your preference." Joanna was wiping Fred's mouth. The little guy was drooling to play with sand, and ended up eating some in his mouth.

   "Okay, I'll ask the company later." An Feng said.

He didn't talk about this when everyone was leisurely. It was natural to come out for leisure. The children were happy, and they also had fun. With robots looking after a few children, they could go into the water with confidence, enjoy the Florida sunshine in April, and lie comfortably. On transparent sea water.

  Dinner is also settled here, but the number of rooms is not enough. Roger takes his wife and children to live in a nearby hotel, and plans to take a yacht to sea the next morning. An Feng called the company early, chatted with his assistant, and got a copy of the company's latest electronic financial statement.

   Judging from the form, the performance of Ocean Shipping is not bad. It invests a lot, but it can also make money. The five ships operate all year round. After deducting various costs, depreciation, labor wages, taxes, etc., the annual net profit is two to three hundred million yuan. There is little hope of recovering the investment cost, but it is equivalent to paying the original tax If the money is saved in another way, there will be an annual income of two to three hundred million.

  An Feng had an idea.

  …

  In the morning, the whole family dressed up for the holiday and boarded a friend’s yacht borrowed by Roger. They also brought their own captain and first mate, as well as a cook and two assistants. A cruise of this size is good. The route is to circle the Bahamas and experience the most scenic area in the Caribbean.

The voyage is about 1,000 kilometers. This 50-meter-long yacht can cruise at the most comfortable speed of 15 knots, which is about 30 kilometers per hour. Including the time of docking, it is estimated that it will take three days to complete the excursion. , drifting slowly on the sea.

This route is very popular. The Bahamas is only more than 200 kilometers away from Florida in a straight line. There are often private yachts, and the mobile phone signal is sufficient. When traveling, you can enjoy the Internet around the clock. satellite.

An Feng acquired a private aviation company called "Starry Space Exploration Company" five years ago. It is also a well-known company. Before the acquisition, there were many successful examples of launching rockets into space, and the cost was kept very low. , Later An Feng felt that there was a need, so he bought it.

With the assistance of Angle Industries, they have launched more than ten rockets in a few years, and sent GP's quantum communication satellites into orbit three times. The satellites use graphene solar panels to allow them to have more energy. Support huge quantum communication.

  Sky Exploration Co., Ltd. is developing the work of exploring the starry sky while also conducting commercial space tourism. A year ago (2025), the space tourism service was officially launched, another feat of successfully realizing commercial space tourism. Currently, manned rockets are launched every four months on average.

However, in order to save costs, they are developing space shuttles with graphene shells, creating "space taxis", and building commercial space stations at the same time. Therefore, they have won NASA's billion-dollar space transportation contract, which can be called among the private aviation companies. of "successful people".

  …

Yacht sailing is different from a huge cruise ship. It does not have a huge space, but it can start and stop at any time. You can also drive a motorboat to go out when you encounter fun. The sea around the Bahamas is the most beautiful tile blue, and there are many shoals within a few kilometers. You can clearly see the light yellow sand on the sea, take a few air cushions to go out to sea, and people lie on them, which has the artistic conception of "the boat is sailing on the blue waves, and people are swimming in the middle of the painting".

   Miranda stood at the bow of the boat with a tablet computer. Everyone looked at the satellite map on it. She muttered: "It seems to be near here."

   "The binoculars are here." Roger came over with several binoculars.

They were looking for a very interesting scenic spot nearby, a sandy beach that would be revealed when the sea water ebbs, and would be buried again when the tide rises. It is said that those who can find it will be possessed by good luck, and they don’t know the basis for the statement. This time One purpose of playing is to find it.

   "I seem to see it!" Joanna said, pointing in one direction, "Look over there, the light blue sea water is a little yellow."

   "It seems to be!" Roger also found it.

   "OK! Let's go there!" An Feng said excitedly, and picked up the walkie-talkie to talk to the captain.

Soon, the yacht came to the place closest to the shoal, and ran aground further forward, so they could only stop here. They had two motorboats, which were unloaded into the water through the machine at the stern, and then put on life jackets for each of them. We put on special life jackets, boarded the boat and set off.

   "We found it!"

   They just landed on the shore, and the sand under their feet was very fine and soft.

The children touched the sand under their feet curiously. Even the youngest Fred stepped into this land wearing a small life jacket. For children, this place with changing colors and rippling blue waves is like a place in a fairy tale. Reprinted, very happy.

   "All of us take a group photo." An Feng suggested that he set up the camera on the motorboat, set the countdown, and came to stand with everyone.

  This magical place has left their mark.

   After playing until the sea water started to rise, they returned to the yacht and continued their journey around the Bahamas.

  …

One day later than expected, they ended their trip and returned to Miami. At this time, they had enough fun. Roger had to go back to Los Angeles. Alice reluctantly said goodbye to her two friends, and even the cute Fred They also stood up and waved their hands, as did Edward and Jessica.

  An Feng said with a smile: "The friendship between the children is really deep."

  Joanna said: "Childhood is always beautiful, and I wish them all the best."

   "They will." An Feng put his arms around Joanna's shoulders, and waved his hand towards the leaving car. He stood for a while before going back to the house with the two hungry children.

   After a day off, An Feng took time to have a meeting with the senior management of the shipping company.

Nothing else, what he cares about is whether he can order another record-breaking cruise ship. The assistants have been contacting the shipyard these days. According to An Feng's intention, he hopes to keep the number one position. Take a breath, otherwise it would be too boring without a goal.

   The final answer is very satisfying.

  Finnish shipyards have this capability, and the way to cross the sea-crossing bridge is also simple, making it wider instead of taller, which can also increase the tonnage of the cruise ship and make it look even bigger. An Feng is also a regular customer of theirs, so he communicated directly by phone and with the help of an interpreter.

  In the end, the capacity of the shipyard, the berthing capacity of the docks in the Caribbean Sea, and the capacity of Fort Lauderdale were integrated, and a figure was obtained: 250,000 tons. That's just 10,000 tons more than the 240,000 tons cruise ships built by competitors, but that 10,000 is equivalent to a fully loaded Burke-class destroyer.

   And An Feng likes this sentence: "According to the current berthing capacity of the cruise ship terminal, 250,000 tons is a limit, and it is not easy to surpass it."

  Of course, cruise ships calling at industrial ports is another story.

   "Send someone over to talk." An Feng said, the translator translated the words, and the other party gave a positive response.

Following An Feng, you have to consider other things. According to the forecast, the cost may be around 2.5 billion US dollars, with a super luxurious lineup. In terms of naming, some directors of the company suggested to use the names of the three recent cruise ships with "Freedom" as the prefix, just like Liberty Poseidon No., Freedom Star, etc.

  But An Feng felt that since it was the largest, he had to use the previous one, and it was more appropriate to call it "Queen Joanna II".

   As a result, everyone felt good after hearing it.

Then there is also the style aspect. Although it has reached the terrifying level of 250,000 tons, for the sake of super five-star, the number of tourists is controlled below 6,000, more space will be used for entertainment, luxury and technology will be reflected everywhere, and the continuation of the Queen theme, inheriting its mantle.

Although the big oil tanker burns money, there are many benefits of being bigger. For example, the Queen Joanna has dominated the number one cruise ship for so many years. Many tourists come here for the name. If it is second or third, it is estimated that there will be no Such a high degree of attention is ultimately better.

   After An Feng came back, he shared the news with Joanna: "Honey, get ready to welcome the Queen II. It will be delivered in two and a half years at the earliest."

   Before Joanna could speak, Alice ran over: "How old is it, Dad?"

   "It's huge." An Feng said.

   "Is it that big?" The little girl tried her best to open her hands and looked up at him.

   "Bigger." An Feng said with a smile, "Have you seen mother's boat? It's much bigger than it."

   "Wow!" Alice opened her mouth, trying to imagine in her head.

  …

  When An Feng was having a good time, his competitors were also in a meeting.

   They obviously got inside information, and now they are having a headache. Main Street Shipping is not even in the top five in the ranking of cruise companies, and its strength is not at the same level as Royal Caribbean, but they have a boss who doesn't care about money at all, and their combat effectiveness is multiplied by ten.

   At the meeting held, a director said: "Should we cancel the order, or continue to expand the tonnage?"

   "We will lose a lot of money if we cancel the order, and the design of the cruise ship is nearing completion." The company CEO said.

   "What about the increase?" asked the director.

"Expansion is possible, but the cost will be high. I heard that the other party plans to spend 2.5 billion or even higher to build it. Even if this ultra-luxury cruise ship has been in operation for 20 years, it may not be able to recover Cost, I am more worried that the opponent will continue to compete after learning about our actions."

  Another director said: "Bruce Ann, I know him, don't compare with him anymore."

  The others looked at the older director.

  He said: "I saw him last time, he is a leader of the Texas consortium."

   Just these few words, the others lost their voices. The Texas consortium and they all know that this group of people can't be provoked, and they have no money to provoke them. It is rumored that they brought down several oil companies, bankrupted two processor companies, and set off a storm of speculative finance. Their strength has become unmatched. and.

The cruise company can only consider itself unlucky when it encounters an opponent like An Feng who just wants to be happy. He doesn't think about profit or other things at all, and he can't even try to compete for superiority through capital operations. His wealth is strong enough to overwhelm all The level of peers is not at the same level at all.

   Before the second record-breaking cruise ship was built, rivals had already surrendered. Other cruise companies have no plans to continue to struggle in this regard, one is the financial problem, and the other is the wharf problem. It is not difficult to build a bigger one, but without a suitable dock, it is meaningless to compare who is bigger.

  (end of this chapter)