Chapter 44: Shipping Standards Setter
“To show respect for science, the Governor’s Mansion received Professor Lin Ran with unprecedented courtesy.”
Xu Aizhou was waiting at home for Lin Ran’s arrival. In recent days, all newspapers in Hong Kong were uniformly discussing this mathematics professor.
Xu Aizhou didn’t know why, at the Governor’s banquet that day, among the many local Hong Kong rich businessmen, the other party only chose to visit his home.
Marriage alliance was impossible; he had no marriageable female descendants.
Begging for alms was even more impossible; Hong Kong media had clearly investigated Lin Ran’s special allowance from the Rockefeller Foundation.
American Media reports about him receiving the Rockefeller allowance had been reprinted everywhere.
Professor Lin was not short of this money at all.
Cooperation? But what he mainly did was docks and real estate business, and for the latter, there were Hong Kong businessmen who did it better than him.
He really couldn’t figure it out. Xu Aizhou had already tried his best to guess, but still couldn’t guess the intention.
But he soon understood.
After simple pleasantries, Lin Ran, sitting on the sofa opposite, handed over a stack of information that had been prepared in advance.
“Shipping Costs Lower Than Land Transport Costs Report”
Xu Aizhou straightened his body just upon seeing this title.
As an old-brand shipping giant, he had been doing shipping business since the 1920s, starting in the 1920s to reclaim land from the sea, taking advantage of France’s neutral status to purchase a large number of cargo ships, operating the entire Southeast Asia shipping network.
How could the other party not know the significance of shipping costs being lower than land transport costs.
To put it bluntly, the plastic factories and garment factories everywhere in Hong Kong now—if shipping costs were lower than land transport, Hong Kong’s production capacity could double without worrying about lacking a market.
“Old Mr. Xu, take your time to read it. We have plenty of time; we’ll talk slowly,” Lin Ran said.
Xu Aizhou sat on the sofa and carefully flipped through the report that Lin Ran had meticulously prepared.
Containers were not a new concept.
In 1780, England’s domestic canal system began using standard wooden coal hopper boxes to achieve direct transportation of coal from mines to Manchester factories.
This was the earliest container application.
Just four years ago, the ideal X tanker from Newark to Houston transported 58 33-foot containers, with loading and unloading costs dropping sharply from 5.83 US dollars/ton to 0.16 US dollars/ton.
But this was still not enough, because the truck transport cost in America was 0.045 US dollars/ton.
It wasn’t until the 1966 North Atlantic Ocean route, after employing the Standardized Interface System, 54-ton gantry cranes, ship structure breakthroughs, Container Data Structuring, and reefer container revolution, that the overall cost could be reduced below truck transport costs.
Taking data found by Lin Ran from IMO technical archive TS-1968/23, Krupp Company’s 1973 technical white paper, and Maersk database 1956-1975 operational datasets as examples, the compiled report painted a bright prospect for Xu Aizhou.
Shipping costs could be reduced to one-third of land transport costs.
Xu Aizhou became more and more excited as he read, more and more excited. He closed the report, took a deep breath: “Professor Lin, I don’t fear your laughter; I’m old and can’t withstand stimulation.”
Lin Ran expressed understanding: “I fully understand. According to my proposal to modify Hong Kong docks, shipping costs could match land transport costs. If the destination ports are also modified, costs can be reduced to one-third of land transport costs.
You continue reading first; we’ll talk after you finish.”
About half an hour later, Xu Aizhou composed his emotions: “Professor Lin, I have to admit that what you brought is a great gift.
Even if you don’t cooperate with the Xu Family, just this information alone is enough to make the Xu Family earn pots full of money.”
For a businessman like Xu Aizhou, who had one foot in the grave, after seeing this report, he could just blindly buy port shares, wait for appreciation, and collect operational dividends.
Traditional Chinese businessmen were all like this; nothing beat eating land rent, and Hong Kong businessmen especially so.
Even without Lin Ran, the other party could see the potential in shipping from the successive reductions in shipping costs, but without Lin Ran, he couldn’t determine how much the costs could actually be reduced or whether they could truly replace traditional land transport.
With Lin Ran’s report, all of this had answers.
“As a token of gratitude, I took the liberty to give you one floor of the commercial-residential building under construction on our land at 23-27 Wing Kut Street in Central. Professor Lin, you must accept it.”
Just hearing the name Central made it clear it was of high value, and it was a whole floor.
Lin Ran inwardly had to admire this group of Chinese businessmen who had fought their way through the first half of the 20th century; the way he spoke and handled things could be described perfectly as elegant.
Lin Ran didn’t refuse; one floor was nothing compared to the information he had told the other party.
“I hold patents for the Honeycomb Deck System, Conical Guide Post Positioning Device, and Container Data Structuring; they have all completed global patent registration at the New York Patent Office.
Currently, Europe, America, and the Soviet Union are all vying for the right to set container standards.
According to the information I got in America, the International Organization for Standardization Container Technical Committee is already in preparation and is expected to be established next year.
I hope Hong Kong can gain the right to set standards among them and occupy a dominant position in future shipping standards.
And what we can do is to take the lead in building two modern docks, use the proposal I provide to build a modern container fleet, and before the standards are set, demonstrate that Hong Kong already has a complete proposal for container standardization.
Make this proposal the international standard.”
It’s only now that information doesn’t circulate enough; the Honeycomb Deck System can help cargo ships increase longitudinal strength, break ship width limits, and help cargo ships break original capacity limits.
Japan’s Mitsubishi has almost developed it and will register the patent next year.
Now, they probably not only can’t register the patent but also have to pay money to China.
Lin Ran continued:
“I have technology and proposals; Hong Kong has docks, shipowners, and demand. We can closely cooperate on this matter.
Make future global shipping obey Hong Kong’s standards.
They can find ways to circumvent other technologies, but they absolutely cannot circumvent the Container Data Structuring patent.
No mathematician can develop a data structuring solution higher than this standard within five years.”
Xu Aizhou was clearly moved; how could he not know what controlling standards means.
Whether he was the Hong Kong shipping king or the world shipping king depended on this wave.
“Professor Lin, whatever you need, the Xu Group will spare no effort.”
“No, no, no; just relying on the Xu Family can’t accomplish this. We need to unite the strength of the entire Hong Kong shipping industry.
I still need to meet Dong Haoyun again.
Let’s settle this matter first, build the sample route for demonstration, and then we need to bring in two major international capitals.
I can help contact Morgan and Rockefeller. With their participation, if necessary, we can also bring in a European company.
With endorsements from multiple parties, this standard will surely become the global standard.”
