Binjiang Police Affairs

Chapter 710 - 484: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend_3

You can truly feel the enthusiasm of the Linghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, as well as the sincerity in their efforts to attract investment.Zhang Asheng glanced back at his wife, then turned to look at Han Yu and Han Xiangning, smiling he said: "Director Tang, and all leaders, frankly speaking, we are particularly interested in sailor training and the dispatch of sailors overseas. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have traveled from Canada to visit and inspect Linghai.

With the support of the Shipping Academy, Linghai Vocational School, and Linghai International Economic and Technical Cooperation Company, I believe that the training and dispatch services can definitely get off the ground, and will only become smoother and more prosperous as we go on."

Zhang Asheng spoke calmly and eloquently, not showing any signs of stage fright. Who would believe he’s someone who has served time in prison?

Han Yu was secretly appreciating that one should indeed see a man in a new light after three days apart when Zhang Asheng took a new turn in the conversation: "However, we believe that focusing solely on sailor training and dispatch services is highly uncertain, especially since we have no control over the dispatch."

"President Zhang, are you saying..."

"It’s not very difficult to recruit batches of students and see them graduate, nor is it to arrange for students to board ships for internships. But what about after their internships are completed? Who can guarantee that so many students will be able to find placements on ships?"

Zhang Asheng lit a cigarette and said with emotion: "Not to make a joke of ourselves, but my wife and I have been through a lot of hardships, we know just how tough it is when someone falls on hard times, so we believe it’s wrong to mislead the young for the sake of earning a bit of training fees."

Han Yu agreed deeply, nodding involuntarily.

Principal Hu from Linghai Vocational School felt a bit awkward, pretending to be engrossed in the feasibility study report prepared by Tang Wentai.

Vice Dean He from the Shipping Academy, feeling deeply moved, raised his head and said: "Training initiatives are viable, but we must not make false promises in our advertising, and we should not expand the scale of training too much. We must make an effort to address the employment of our students. In short, if we do undertake this, we must be responsible for our students!"

"Dean He is right, but we think this is still not enough."

Zhang Asheng pulled out a document from his bag, smiling as he said: "I suggest expanding our range of services and establishing a real shipping management company. This is a preliminary plan drafted by my wife and me. Please, leaders, take a look."

Tang Wentai took it and was immediately taken aback.

Han Yu took the document from Shen Rulan and after a careful read, was also shocked by the boldness of their proposal.

They didn’t just want to start a training class and dispatch sailors; they also aimed to venture into international and domestic ship management, cargo agency, shipping technical consultancy, labor services, ship equipment maintenance, and the supply of spare parts and materials. In other words, they wanted to establish a real ship management company.

For example, some bosses who want to enter the shipping industry and have the money to buy ships but do not understand operational management could entirely entrust it to a ship management company.

Such ship management companies are common overseas but are just starting to develop in our country. East Sea and East Guang seem to have a few, all founded by management teams from large maritime enterprises who have struck out on their own.

Han Yu looked up and said: "President Zhang, starting a ship management company requires professional marine management personnel, especially those with rich experience in ship and engine operations!"

"Director Han, the Marine Bureau you served at has many experienced captains and chief engineers."

"The question is, are there shipowners willing to entrust their ships to a ship management company?"

Shen Rulan, who had been smiling silently, said: "I’m not going to lie, in the past two months, we have visited thirteen countries and met with many shipowners. Before coming to Linghai, we also went to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Jianfu, and other regions. During this trip we discovered that there are numerous bosses along the Southeast Coast who are interested in venturing into shipping and have a demand for ship management companies to manage on their behalf."

Zhang Asheng added with a smile: "They have the money; buying ships is not difficult for them, and registration is also easy. By using a flag of convenience, they can even save a lot on tonnage taxes. Yet, the line of business is as different as another mountain. Buying ships is easy, but they don’t know how to manage them."

Shipping, especially ocean-going transportation, is different from other businesses, and professional persons are a must. Otherwise, poor management can lead to shipwrecks and loss of lives.

It suddenly dawned on Han Yu that both of them have sailed before, and they were among the earliest batches of sailors dispatched overseas.

One has worked at a ship agency, and her English is so good she can even understand Indians, having provided translation services for numerous foreign shipowners.