Since the Liaoning returned from its first voyage, the crew has been plagued by a tricky matter.
"Where do these 'seafood' visible to the naked eye come from, and why do they appear on battleships?" In the process of cleaning up, the officers and men could not help but feel a headache.
They are all veterans of many battles and can deal with all kinds of difficult problems easily, but these seemingly harmless creatures have brought unprecedented challenges to their work.
Thinking that it would take a lot of time and energy to clean up these stubborn barnacles, everyone couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.
Barnacles are no stranger to those who live along the coast, but probably little is known to military personnel in the interior. These creatures, also known as barnacles, may seem like "seafood" on the surface, but they have undoubtedly become a serious ecological threat to the vast sea.
These barnacles are not only parasitic on animals, but also widely distributed in the crevices of the rocks by the sea. This means that both small ships and aircraft carriers may not escape the "claws" of barnacles.
Once a ship is successfully overrun by barnacles, it will soon be covered in a large number of barnacles on its bottom until the hull is completely engulfed. At the same time, the mucus secreted by barnacles and their special way of reproduction will also cause great damage to the hull and gradually corrode the hull.
For some small boats, they can be lifted with the help of lifting equipment after landing, and then a professional team will carry out a comprehensive cleaning to solve the barnacle problem. However, for a large aircraft carrier, the situation is a little trickier.
As a vital combat ship in the modern navy, aircraft carriers often carry out long-distance missions that last for months or even years, and it is difficult to dock at the dock for routine repairs en route.
This means that when the aircraft carrier returns to its home port after completing its mission, it will be a difficult undertaking to completely remove the barnacles from the bottom of the ship. More than 10 tons of barnacles need to be removed during each cleaning process! What's even more troublesome is that after cleaning, a series of repairs are needed to alleviate the serious damage caused by the corrosive nature of barnacles.
According to the data released by the US Navy, the cost of disposing of the barnacles on the bottom of the ship alone is as high as more than $200 million per year! Although the number of aircraft carriers in China is not comparable to that of the United States, the resources consumed cannot be ignored either.
The magical power of barnacles
As a very special sea creature, barnacles' survival skills are truly eye-opening. The key to their ability to become the "number one enemy" of aircraft carriers lies in their astonishing growth rate and elusive way of survival.
Barnacles can quickly pile up tens of tons in just a few weeks because of their unique parasitic properties. These organisms do not need to obtain nutrients from their "hosts", and simply attaching themselves to the bottom of a ship or the surface of an animal is enough to meet their own needs for growth.
It is precisely because of this that barnacles can spread freely in nature, becoming a serious threat to all kinds of marine life and even ships.
When these barnacles successfully parasitize the animal, they secrete a special mucus that clings firmly to the surface of the host and implants their roots deep in it.
Sometimes, barnacles will multiply in large numbers, forming a dense covering layer on the surface of the animal's body, which can be called a typical representative of "harming others and benefiting oneself". Animals parasitized by barnacles not only have to bear the extra weight burden and immobility, but also suffer from the pain of infection all the time.
Every time I see the scene of the whale writhing violently and desperately struggling on the water, people can't help but feel heartbroken.
For some smaller vessels, there are some countermeasures that can be taken after landing. The problem of barnacles on the bottom of the boat can be solved by lifting the boat with the help of specialized equipment and then being thoroughly cleaned by a professional team.
But for a huge aircraft carrier, the situation is a little trickier. As the most critical combat ship in the modern navy, aircraft carriers often need to carry out long-distance missions that can last for months or even years, and it is difficult to dock at the dock for regular maintenance on the way.
This means that when the aircraft carrier returns to its home port after completing its mission, removing a large number of barnacles attached to the bottom of the ship will become a difficult project.
The tortuous course of the mainland's aircraft carrier business
When it comes to aircraft carriers, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is the strong strength of the US Navy. However, when it comes to the course of development of the aircraft carrier industry, it is by no means smooth sailing for the mainland.
It was only in the late nineties of the last century that the mainland officially included the construction of aircraft carriers in its agenda. At the same time, the edifice of the Soviet Union was crumbling, and its vast naval equipment began to fall into trophies of other countries.
At this time, we seized a rare historical opportunity and acquired a semi-finished aircraft carrier from Ukraine - "Waglian".
Previously, although the mainland already had a certain degree of talent reserves for aircraft carrier research and development, it had no actual combat experience. Even if a few people have visited the aircraft carriers of other countries, they have only scratched the surface.
Therefore, this semi-finished "Waglian" has become a key touchstone for the development of the mainland's aircraft carrier industry.
Unfortunately, "Waglian" is not exclusively owned by the mainland. Over the years, the mainland has acquired four aircraft carriers from overseas, but only the "Waglian" has finally become usable, and the other three have been withdrawn from the stage.
In 2002, the much-anticipated "Waglian" finally arrived at the Dalian shipyard on the mainland. In the following three years, the domestic technical team conducted in-depth research on it, and finally had a comprehensive understanding of the structure and high-precision technology of the original 50,000-ton aircraft carrier.
At the same time, we have also conducted a careful analysis and study of the remaining aircraft carriers purchased from overseas, and the results show that the "Waglian" is a treasure that can be further optimized and upgraded on this basis to make it the flagship of the Chinese Navy.
After seven years of unremitting efforts and arduous research, the "Waglian", which was originally on the verge of scrapping, was finally reborn on September 25, 2012, and became the mainland's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
Since then, the Chinese Navy has officially entered the sequence of the world's aircraft carrier forces. However, at the end of 2016, when the Liaoning's first long-range training was launched, the mainland navy was also facing unprecedented challenges.
The "destructive power" of barnacles
Barnacles are a serious ecological aggressor because of their special parasitic properties. These creatures prefer to cling to the flatter parts of the ocean floor, so they are often found on a variety of marine animals.
Whether it is a turtle or a whale, as long as it is an animal that lives in the ocean, you can almost find barnacles on your body.
Once successfully parasitized by barnacles, the bottom of the ship will quickly be covered with a large number of barnacles, and eventually it will be completely consumed. This not only affects the sailing performance of the vessel, but also causes serious corrosion damage to the hull itself.
For some smaller ships, there are some countermeasures that can be taken after landing, but for large aircraft carriers, the situation is a little trickier.
As the most critical combat ship in the modern navy, aircraft carriers often need to carry out long-distance missions that can last for months or even years, and it is difficult to dock at the dock for regular maintenance on the way.
This means that when the aircraft carrier returns to its home port after completing its mission, removing a large number of barnacles attached to the bottom of the ship will become a difficult project.
According to the data released by the US Navy, the cost of disposing of the barnacles on the bottom of the ship alone is as high as more than $200 million per year! Although the number of aircraft carriers in China is not comparable to that of the United States, the resources consumed cannot be ignored either.