African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 50: Chapter 46 Fleet

October 8, 1866, Venice.

Heixinggen Shipyard.

Today is Ernst’s second visit to Venice, and unlike last time, it’s already October now, but the weather is transitioning from hot to cold, so it’s quite cool and comfortable.

Because he received news the day before yesterday that the fifth new ship is ready, and now the ships Ernst ordered have been completed at the dock, just waiting to be launched.

So this time Ernst is here to attend the launch ceremony of his own fleet. Heixinggen Shipyard has always been taking other orders, so it can’t fully focus on building ships for Ernst. Every cycle, only one dock is left for Ernst’s own company, as this allows the shipyard to operate smoothly.

This time, led by employees of Heixinggen Shipyard, Ernst easily found his way to the shipyard’s dock, accompanied by the ship designer and technical director.

A gigantic seafaring ship was parked by the dock, the surrounding wooden frames had been dismantled, and as the canal closed, water flowed from the pipes on both sides into the center, slowly elevating the large ship with the rising water level.

”There are now five such ships; all are sail wooden-hulled ships equipped with steam power, and their structures were completed by experienced ship designers...”

Ernst stood by the shore listening to the technical personnel’s explanation. Technically, these five wooden ships are quite decent, as the experience is mature, making them easy for the crew to operate at sea.

”If the ships are to sail to the Far East, and drift on the sea all year long, are they reliably safe?”

”Boss, rest assured, our workers have been making a living from this craft for years; there’s no sloppiness in craftsmanship and material selection. As for the design, it draws on the most mature and reliable schemes, with only some minor improvements, which won’t threaten the ship’s overall safety.”

Although the staff’s assurances might be worthless, they still provided Ernst some comfort. Ernst was still afraid they might mess around, as every year, some ship accidents occurred due to designers’ bold innovations.

As long as the shipyard staff operates stably following the mature experiences of the current era, safety will be somewhat better.

Now that the ships are ready, they should be put to work to generate profit, starting with the recruitment for the fleet.

Ernst instructed his new assistant, Eric.

”Eric, start preparing for the recruitment of crew members for our first ocean-going commercial fleet from the day after tomorrow. You can post recruitment ads in the Venice area.”

”Make sure to hire seasoned old-hands who’ve navigated ocean routes as guides, and recruit other sailors locally.”

”Yes, boss!” Eric replied.

”And, these five ships will solve our issue of transporting a batch of equipment to East Africa. You need to coordinate well.”

Ernst plans to order a batch of machines to the colonies, including sisal processing machines, threshers, and some basic machinery.

Some materials can be processed locally before export, yielding higher profits, and the transport of goods becomes more convenient.

...

While Ernst was planning for the ocean-going fleet, Prince Constantine was actively searching for matrimonial alliances.

On Prince Constantine’s desk lay information on various families, with many being from the German region. In this era, the German region was like Europe’s aristocratic nursery, with many European nobles originating from there, so Prince Constantine focused his selection primarily on the German region.

Besides Germany, he also considered some nobles from Sweden, France, and Russia in Northern Europe.

”This one won’t do, too young; this one, too old; this one’s status is too low; this one has illnesses...”

After much selection, Prince Constantine finally narrowed it down to three families, deciding to wait until Ernst returned to make the final decision.

...

After attending the ship launching ceremony, Ernst registered these five ships under the Heixinggen Ocean Trade Company.

The main focus is trade from Europe to East Africa and then to the Far East; whether profitable or not is secondary. The current aim is to lower costs, as the Dutch charges aren’t cheap. The main intention is to ensure easier control over the colonies.

Currently, since the Suez Canal is not yet open, let these sailors get familiar with ocean routes, and in the meantime, continue expanding the fleet while waiting for the Suez Canal to open.

Once the Suez Canal opens, the distance from Europe to East Africa will be halved.

By departing from the Mediterranean, passing through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, and through the Mand Strait, they would enter the Indian Ocean and sail south along the coastline to reach East Africa.

The fleet in the Aden Bay waters could decide whether to sail east to the Far East region or south to the colonies, while returning fleets from the Far East or East Africa colonies could dock at Mediterranean ports. Goods could then be land transported back to Prussia from Austria.

For now, they can only continue along the long western African coastline, which is also beneficial as it allows the newly recruited sailors to become familiar with their work and surroundings.

”Eric, one more thing, go to the market and check if there are any second-hand ships for sale; five ships are still too few. We need to speed up the process and see if we can expand the fleet to over ten vessels.”

”Yes, boss.”

Eric noted everything down, preparing to complete each task.

As the five sail ocean vessels underwent trial voyages on the Adriatic Sea, Ernst stood at the bow, feeling the sea breeze brush against him. Ships came and went on the Adriatic Sea, with various sounds of whistles constantly ringing in his ears.

The sea was calm, with small waves quietly lapping against the ship’s external walls, and Ernst didn’t feel any strong vibrations. His first experience on a sea vessel was quite comfortable.

In the future, this fleet will be long sailing on the route to the East African colonies. Europe and East Asia merely serve as the two ends providing human and material resources for the development of East African colonies, which is Ernst’s true focus.