In 2001, the predecessor of China's first aircraft carrier "Liaoning Ship " "Varyag" suffered repeated setbacks on its way back to China.
During this period, Turkey not only closed the strait to prohibit the passage of the "Varyag", but even asked China to pay a "toll" of US$1 billion.
In addition, when passing through the international waters near the Aegean Sea Skyros Island, it encountered an unprecedented storm.
It was not until March 3, 2002 that the "Varyag", which had gone through many difficulties and dangers, finally arrived in Dalian, China...
In this article, let us review the difficult journey of the "Varyag" that year The road back home.
一
Speaking of the legendary experience of the "Varyag", we have to start with its first owner, the Soviet Union.
As we all know, although the Soviet Union has a powerful army, its navy has always been second-rate in the world.
One of the very important reasons is that the Soviet Union lacks the iconic ship of a powerful modern navy- aircraft carrier .
To this end, the Soviet Union has designed and built two types of aircraft carriers, the "Moscow" class and the "Kiev" class.
However, a large amount of deck space on these two types of aircraft carriers is used to carry anti-ship, anti-aircraft and cruise missiles, so at best they can only be regarded as a hybrid version of aircraft carriers and cruisers . They have average combat capabilities and are not aircraft carriers in the true sense.
In order to compete with the United States on the ocean, the Soviet Union had to consider building a third-generation aircraft carrier!
In September 1982, the first aircraft carrier "Order 105" was officially started at the Black Sea Shipyard (ie Nikolaev Shipyard) in Ukraine.
This was later the "Kuznetsov" aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy .
In 1983, the Soviet military decided to build the second aircraft carrier "Order 106", which later became the "Varyag".
The full-load displacement of these two aircraft carriers of the same class is 67,000 tons, which reaches or even exceeds several generations of conventionally powered aircraft carriers developed by the United States after World War II. It surpasses the "Midway" class and is close to the "Forrest" class and "Forrest" class. Kitty Hawk class displacement.
In addition, the total length of this type of aircraft carrier is 304 meters, which is almost the same as the American "Nimitz" class aircraft carrier, ensuring that the ship has a flight deck of sufficient length for aircraft to take off and land.
A more important point is that the "Varyag" aircraft carrier is designed for taking off and landing fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft, and can carry about 50 fixed-wing aircraft .
Not only that, the ship also has two inclined and straight decks unique to fleet-type aircraft carriers, and a 12-degree upturned ski-jump take-off deck common to aircraft carriers.
In this way, even if the aircraft carrier is not equipped with the catapult , it can still take off and land heavy fixed-wing aircraft, which greatly improves its combat capabilities.
In order to build these two aircraft carriers, the Soviet government had good intentions. It not only used experts from more than 800 industries and more than 7,000 factories, scientific research institutes, and design bureaus, but also spent huge sums of money to carry out large-scale construction of the Black Sea Shipyard. technological transformation.
In addition, in order to ensure that the aircraft carrier can sail smoothly into the Black Sea after leaving the factory, the Soviet authorities even dredged the Great Canal and the Bug-Dnieper-Lieman River.
二
At the end of 1985, the construction of the "Varyag" officially started.
In 1988, after three years of hard work, the hull of the "Varyag" was successfully built and launched on November 25 of that year.
Initially, this aircraft carrier was not called "Varyag", but "Riga". It was only officially renamed "Varyag" in July 1990 to commemorate the battle in the " Russo-Japanese War" The cruiser "Varyag" sank in .
However, this huge aircraft carrier, which was expensive and time-consuming and carried the Soviet Union's dream of becoming a maritime power, was only 68% completed in November 1991.
In December of the same year, the Soviet Union declared its disintegration, and Ukraine became the new owner of the "Varyag" and the Black Sea Shipyard.
But at that time, Ukraine did not have the idea of equipping an aircraft carrier, so it hoped that Russia could fund the construction.
Prior to this, the Soviet government had paid 70% of the construction cost for this aircraft carrier. Russia thought that it only needed to pay the remaining 30%, which was about 670 million U.S. dollars. However, Ukraine required Russia to pay the entire cost. 2 billion US dollars.
To put it simply, Ukraine wants to sell the unfinished "Varyag" for the price of a complete warship.
However, Russia, which has just divided its family, is simply unable to pay this huge expense. However, it would be a pity to demolish the "Varyag" halfway, after all, it is almost completed.
Both sides have great differences on this!
In order to better solve this problem, the then Russian Prime Minister Chernomyrdin and the then Ukrainian Prime Minister Kuchma jointly inspected the "Varyag".
After arriving at the Black Sea Shipyard, Chernomyrdin and Kuchma, led by the old factory director Makarov, inspected the aircraft carrier.
During the period, they asked the old factory director Makarov: "How much will it cost to build this aircraft carrier?"
The old factory director replied: "'Varyag' can no longer be completed."
Liang People curiously asked the reason and asked him what conditions he still lacked. Makarov said:
"What is missing? I lack the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union , the Central Committee of the Party of the Soviet Union, the State Planning Commission of the Soviet Union, and the National Defense Industry Committee... In a word, I need our great Soviet Union. The powerful Soviet Union still exists. Are you sure you can get it?"
After hearing the answer of the old factory director Makarov, Chernomyrdin and Kuchma no longer wanted to Speak, because they know very well in their hearts that these conditions can no longer be achieved.
Since Russia was unable to afford this huge amount of money, in November 1993, the Ukrainian government officially issued an order to stop the construction of the "Varyag".
In 1995, Kuchma, who had been elected as the president of Ukraine, decided to hand over the "Varyag" to the Black Sea Shipyard for disposal.
三
At this time, in the eyes of many people, the "Varyag" seems to be facing two fates: one is to be dismantled into a pile of scrap metal and sold; the other is like "Minsk" No. , like the "Kiev", was transformed into a tourist attraction. At the beginning of
, some buyers actually threw an olive branch to it.
For example, a company in France once fantasized about buying the "Varyag" and converting it into a luxurious and unique "sea airport hotel".
However, since most cabins on the ship are only 2.2 meters high and cannot meet the standards of passenger ships, we have to give up.
In addition, there is a British company that wants to buy it and convert it into an "armored prison". The reason given is: the height of the cabin is just right.
But these "unreliable" buyers did not win the aircraft carrier in the end!
In December 1995, Ukrainian President Kuchma visited Beijing, and the two sides negotiated the shipment of the "Varyag" to China.
At the end of 1997, Ukraine took the initiative to sell the hull of the "Varyag" to China at the price of a scrap ship.
However, in order to avoid unnecessary international disputes, Uzbekistan hopes that China would better purchase it through a third-party civil company.
Unfortunately, under pressure from the United States, the shipboard weapons and equipment, wiring, power systems, etc. on the "Varyag" were all dismantled. Except for the superstructure, the entire aircraft carrier was almost an empty shell.
In 1998, the "Varyag" was treated as scrap metal and put on the international auction market!
At the auction, in addition to two scrap collectors from the United States and South Korea, there was also a ‘Chuanglu Tourism and Entertainment Company’ from Macau, China.
This Macau Chuanglu Tourism and Entertainment Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Chuanglu Group. The chairman of the board of directors of Hong Kong Chuanglu Group is called Xu Zengping.
This person once served as a soldier in the Guangzhou Military Region . After retiring, he went to Guangzhou to do business. In 1988, he went to Hong Kong for development and established Chuanglu Group , mainly engaged in real estate business.
Picture | Xu Zengping
After several rounds of bidding, Macau Chuanglu Tourism and Entertainment Company finally successfully won the "Varyag" for US$20 million.
At that time, Macau Chuanglu Tourism and Entertainment Company took the picture of the aircraft carrier for the purpose of transforming it into a luxurious gambling ship.
However, in order to prevent the "Varyag" from being used for military purposes, when the deal was concluded, China also signed a statement stating that it would not be used for military purposes.
In June 1999, "Macau Chuanglu" hired a tugboat from the "International Transport Contract Company (ITC)" to tow the "Varyag" that had been idle for 8 years, and began a long journey.
On the day the "Varyag" was towed away, the seriously ill old factory director Makarov couldn't help but burst into tears. This aircraft carrier indeed carries too many memories and youth of his.
However, for the "Varyag", what it has to face on this voyage is not just the sea!
四
When the "Varyag" was preparing to pass through the 'Bosphorus' controlled by Turkey, at the reminder of a third country, the Turkish government complained that "the hull is too large and will affect other ships in the Bosporus." "Normal navigation" and other reasons, the "Varyag" was refused passage.
In addition, the Turkish government also forcibly ordered the "Varyag" to return to the Black Sea!
Then in August, the "Varyag" tried to pass through the Bosporus again, but was blocked again by the Turkish government!
In this way, the "Varyag" was blocked in the Black Sea. After drifting for a long time, it was forced to return to its original port.
Long-term drifting and parking greatly increases transportation costs!
According to records: While the "Varyag" was trapped in the Black Sea, the "Macau Chuanglu" had to pay US$8,500 to ITC every day, and it also had to pay US$17,000 in berthing fees to the Ukrainian Port Authority every month.
In addition, the ITC tugboat crew was extremely dissatisfied because they were unable to escape for a long time, and Macau Chuanglu suffered heavy losses as a result.
In addition to these, Macau Chuanglu also paid huge fees for late payment penalty interest, contract disputes, debts and other items.
The original cost of purchasing the "Varyag" was only US$20 million. Even with transportation costs, it would not exceed US$50 million.
However, due to the obstruction of the Turkish government, the total transaction cost of the "Varyag" reached US$100 million.
In fact, at that time, the Turkish Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were inclined to let it go, but Mirzaoglu, the Minister of State in charge of maritime affairs, firmly opposed it.
The main reason why this happens is that the United States is obstructing it!
You must know that before this, the "Varyag"'s sister ship "Kuznetsov" passed through the strait twice, but was not subject to any restrictions.
Why was the "Varyag" shipped to China treated like this? In fact, the answer is already very obvious.
On December 19, 1999, Americans moved directly from behind the scenes to the front of the stage.
The then US Ambassador to Turkey Pierson met with Mirzaoglu and expressed to him the US government's "concerns" about the "Varyag".
The following year, before visiting the United States, Mirzaoglu also submitted a report to Prime Minister Asifet, describing in detail the technical problems that may occur when the "Varyag" passed through the Bosporus Strait. also suggested rejecting China's request and banning the "Varyag" from passing through the strait.
The behavior of the Turkish government aroused the dissatisfaction of ITC head Jupp Timmans. He argued:
"It is actually better to carry the Varyag across the strait than to drive a 150,000-ton cruise ship." It is easier and safer to cross the strait. "
However, despite this, the Turkish government refused to let it go, and even said unreasonably: "Either you let the ship have its own power, or you break it into pieces and transport it. Otherwise, there is no way to pass through the strait."
In March 2001, a strange thing happened: a helicopter landed on the deck of the "Varyag". After three people jumped out to do some surveying and mapping, they flew away again. Before leaving, They had not forgotten to write the words "The French are here for a visit" with chalk on the deck.
In this way, the two sides were in a stalemate for a long time. It was not until the Chinese government came forward to coordinate that the matter turned around.
5
In July 2001, the Turkish military, which originally stood on Mirzaouru's side, began to change its attitude, and in early August, it notified the Prime Minister's Office to "recommend release."
The Turkish government also proposed: It hopes that China will open up access to Turkey. Tourism, striving to attract 2 million Chinese tourists to Turkey every year, which can create 2 billion US dollars in foreign exchange income for Turkey.
On August 25 of the same year, the Turkish National Security Council formally made a resolution and agreed to let the "Varyag" travel. Passing the Bosporus Strait.
But do you think this is the end?
Of course not, although the Turkish government agreed to let the "Varyag" pass through the strait, it also proposed 20 safety conditions
which not only required China to provide. It provides a written guarantee that during the passage, it must obey the instructions of Turkey regarding navigation safety, equipment, technology and personnel dispatch and command.
In addition, the Turkish government also requires China to pay a US$1 billion " risk deposit." ", which is the so-called "toll".
So, did China give this money?
Of course, China did not agree to such extremely harsh conditions!
At that time, China organized a delegation to visit Turkey, and it was " Liangge" negotiated the passage of the Strait.
In a very short period of time, China prepared a number of safety conditions required by the Turkish government and rented the world's most powerful Greek tugboat "Nicholas Chi. Kerr", avoiding a US$1 billion risk deposit.
Of course, China also agreed to give a "state guarantee" and be responsible for possible compensation issues.
In addition, a small radar, The global satellite positioning system and other navigation safety facilities have dispelled the concerns of the Turkish government.
However, the "Varyag", which was originally scheduled to set sail on October 25, blocked the way due to sudden waves
. On March 1, the weather finally cleared up and the Bosporus was calm. Turkey temporarily closed the world's busiest waterway since the early morning to allow the "Varyag" to pass smoothly.
This huge warship, which had lost any power, was towed by 11 tugboats and escorted by 12 rescue and firefighting ships , and it moved forward slowly.
After 10 hours of slow sailing, the "Varyag" finally safely sailed through the 32-kilometer-long Bosporus Strait and entered the vast Sea of Marmara.
However, the "Varyag"'s return journey is destined to have twists and turns!
Picture | "Varyag" passed through the Bosporus
6
On the morning of November 2, the "Varyag" entered the narrow Dardanelles , and entered the Aegean Sea in the afternoon.
However, there are unforeseen circumstances!
html On the night of 03, when the fleet arrived in the international waters near Skyros island , it was suddenly hit by a strong storm. The tow cable between the tugboat and the aircraft carrier was severed by the strong wind, and the "Varyag" suddenly became a The wild horse ran wild on the sea and drifted directly to Evia Island . At one time, it was only dozens of kilometers away from the island.After fighting the storm for 12 hours, the tugboat and the aircraft carrier reconnected, and the danger was saved.
But unfortunately, a sailor on a tugboat failed when trying to secure the tow cable and was crushed to death by the heavy steel cable !
After escaping from the storm, the "Varyag" tried to continue moving forward through the Suez Canal, but the Egyptian government rejected the "Varyag" on the grounds that "unpowered ships are prohibited from passing through the canal" via the Suez Canal.
There is no choice. The "Varyag" can only choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea , pass the Strait of Gibraltar , enter the Atlantic Ocean, and then go around the Cape of Good Hope and enter the Indian Ocean...
February 20, 2002, "Varyag" After passing through the Malacca Strait and the waters off Singapore, it finally successfully sailed into China's territorial waters.
On March 3 of the same year, the "Varyag", which had gone through many difficulties and obstacles, arrived at Dalian . On the day of , traffic on the sea was strictly controlled, and no ships were allowed to enter or exit.
At about 5 o'clock in the morning, the "Varyag", towed by six tugs and led by a pilot boat, left the outer anchorage area of Dalian Port and slowly headed towards the inner harbor.
After about 4 hours of sailing, the "Varyag" successfully arrived at the inner port.
At 12:00 noon, the "Varyag" was safely berthed at the No. 4 Bulk Cargo Terminal in the West District of Dalian Inner Port, officially ending a difficult voyage of 15,200 nautical miles and taking four months.
But if we count from July 1999, it took more than 2 years for the "Varyag" to arrive in China from the Black Sea Shipyard.
What is dramatic is that on the second day after the "Varyag" docked in Dalian, the gaming license of Macau Chuanglu Group was revoked.
After some hard work, the "Varyag" was finally handed over to the Chinese military and underwent construction and improvement at the end of April 2005.
Picture | "Varyag" arrived at Dalian Port
7
On September 25, 2012, the "Varyag" was officially renamed "Liaoning" and was delivered to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.
Since then, the "Liaoning Ship" has become the first aircraft carrier in the history of our People's Navy!
But the "Liaoning Ship" was just a starting point. After that, our People's Navy successively owned the "Shandong Ship" and the "Fujian Ship".
Wen Shijun believes that in the near future, our People's Navy will have more and more aircraft carriers, and they will become more and more advanced, truly shouldering the great responsibility of maintaining world peace.
So, what happened to Xu Zengping, the owner of the Macau Chuanglu Company who participated in the purchase of the "Varyag"?
Due to limited space, we will talk about it below!
