Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Chapter 154 Formation Of Coast Guard

154  Formation Of Coast Guard

Vijayanagara Empire, Raya shipyard Mangalore.

Vijay was highly satisfied with the ship before him. Now that Vijayanagara was capable of constructing its own warships, Vijay envisioned initiating the Vijayanagara Navy. Although not a fully-fledged navy capable of transoceanic voyages, and not even a green-water navy with a substantial regional presence, Vijay initially planned to establish a Coast Guard. This Coast Guard would combat smuggling, deter and suppress pirate activities, secure sea trade routes in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and, most importantly, safeguard the coast from small-scale foreign aggression.

Thinking about all this, Vijay recalled that the shipyard had been manufacturing these ships over the past year during his engagement in war. He felt like there would be a good number of talents trained in this time span, so he enquired, "How many people are capable of building this ship?" Vijay asked curiously. Devendra, a middle-aged man, stood beside Danier. Devendra was the manager Vinod scouted when looking for managerial talents for the royal family's industries. When the plan for shipbuilding arose, many people identified by Vinod as having managerial talents were employed by the shipyard. However, among them, only two individuals could handle both management and were exceptionally proficient at shipbuilding. The rest of the managerial talents struggled, so they were ordered to return to their previous roles, with plans to utilize them in other industries when needed. Devendra, one of the talents, and Sudhakar the other, were the ones who remained.

"Your Majesty, the 200 people who came to greet you are all talents trained by Raya shipyard, and all 200 of them are capable of participating in this build. Among them, including me, there are four people who are capable of leading other craftsmen to build this current warship on their own."

Hearing the answer, Vijay was taken aback and surprised by this news, as it seemed almost incredulous. How could there be so many shipbuilders in the empire within a year? Despite all the resources he put into the naval academy, it appeared illogical. So, Vijay asked with a doubtful expression, "Are you really sure that these 200 people are capable of delivering what you said?"

Seeing the doubt on his Majesty's face, Devendra became nervous. If His Highness perceived him as a boaster and a liar, his career could come to an end at that very moment. So, he quickly explained with a hint of panic in his voice.

"It is true, Your Highness. All these 200 people are capable of building the Hampi class sloop. These people were selected from the Naval Academy after confirming excellent performance in academics and a keen judgment for practical work. we have also spent a lot of resources in order to train them. For example, to train these craftsmen to the level they are now, we have utilized five sloops worth of materials to build a single sloop. At first, they made a lot of mistakes, but as they got more and more experience in the field, they picked up the craft very quickly. Surprisingly, a lot of them also said that they had been getting insights lately which propelled their craft forward at an unimaginable speed. Your Highness, please, you can inspect the work if you would like."

By the time Devendra was able to get all these words out, his face was already filled with sweat.

Vijay, upon hearing the reply, had his skepticism dissipate. As soon as he heard that the craftsmen were gaining insights, he confirmed that his Golden finger played a role. When the naval academy was established, a total of 10,000 teenagers were selected throughout the empire, most of whom were distributed across various courses related to sailors, shipbuilders, ship designers, and ship maintenance.

Vijay had collectively spread the seeds of knowledge among the students of the Naval Academy. These seeds acted as a catalyst for truly talented students, fastening their growth. Moreover, the teachers who had taught them were the Battleship maintenance crew of the Dutch Royal Navy. Although they had no experience in shipbuilding, they were the maintenance group of a top-of-the-line purebred Ocean-going Battleship. They were very clear about the structure of the ship they worked on, and teaching the basics of shipbuilding was of no difficulty for them, at least for the smaller ships.

With the help of the advanced theoretical basis, Vijay gave and with the rich practical experience of the Dutch maintenance personnel, this lot of 200 shipbuilders grew up in this environment. Although they utilized five times more resources in their learning process, it was necessary, as these materials were not representative of the money that was lost but a representation of the time that was saved. In case the training was done in a traditional way, it would take many years to train a good shipbuilding talent, and being able to nurture 200 shipbuilding talents successfully was a huge deal.

Although his doubts disappeared, he still said, "Okay, let me see how you manufacture a sloop."

Seeing that his majesty was giving him a chance, Devendra quickly assembled his team among the 200 shipbuilders and started his task.

Danior Boswell, who heard the whole conversation, walked next to Vijay and went on to explain what Devendra was doing.

First, BNV Pratham was removed from the dock, and the water was drained. The next step involved Devendra ordering his men to bring in the processed timber that had gone through the futtock shrouding process.

The keel, which is the ship's backbone, was then laid on the dry dock floor. Following that, Devendra and his men raised the frames, which are the curved structures forming the ribs of the hull, and attached them to the keel with pegs and treenails.

Devendra then ordered his men to clinch the planks into frames, creating a watertight hull using iron nails and water-repellent stuffing. This entire process took half a day, during which Vijay had his lunch and observed the shipbuilding process.

22:35

Next, Devendra laid the deck planks on top of the frames and secured them with beams and supporting braces. The single Lateen mast was then laid using several pieces of sal wood. Boswell explained that pine could also be utilized sometimes, depending on the availability of the material.

The mast was then joined and reinforced with iron bands. Next, Daniel ordered his men to rig the mast with ropes and blocks, creating the Lateen sail in the fore and aft rig for manoeuvrability.

Basically, the construction of the ship is primarily completed. Next is adding in the details; the gun ports were created on the deck and sides of the hull to accommodate the cannons. The 6 12-kilogram cannons in the warehouse were brought into position and secured to the six gun ports. The large 20-kilogram main cannon was also attached to a separate gun port. Ten swivel guns were installed on the swivel mounts along the bulwarks for close-quarter defence. Finishing touches like the steering wheel, anchor, and figurehead were added.

The entire ship was constructed within a span of 18 hours, leaving Vijay impressed. However, upon noticing that the waterproofing of the hull was inadequate, he voiced his concern.

"What is the lifespan of this boat?" Vijay inquired.

"Your Highness, with proper maintenance, it could last up to 15 years," Boswell replied.

Vijay, satisfied with the information, contemplated the potential for profit with the waterproofing material.

Devendra, true to his word, then presented the new ship to Vijay. In acknowledgement, Vijay nodded his head and promised him and his team a small reward, which left them excited for a while.

"How many ships have been produced now?" Vijay asked.

"Your Highness, including this one, we have manufactured 22 sloops of the Hampi class," Devendra answered.

Vijay was happy with the number and ordered, "Good, the military will be placing orders for these sloops in the next few days. I need your 200 craftsmen to be divided into 4 teams and work in different shipyards across the empire."

Devendra was taken aback by his majesty's decision. Didn't his majesty say that he was very satisfied with the warship? Why did he suddenly split the group? But soon, he calmed down, remembering that it was his royal highness who was the owner of this shipyard.

Vijay continued, "You said that including you there are four group leaders. Who are they?"

Devendra quickly answered, "Your Majesty, it's Sudhakar over here, Nithin, and Pankaj."

As soon as the names rang out, three people stepped out, Sudhakar having already been selected by Vinod.

Vijay soon ordered, "Devendra, you will continue to serve as the manager of Raya shipyard here in Mangalore. Sudhakar, you will serve as the manager of the Chola shipyard in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Nithin, you will serve as the manager of the Ashoka shipyard in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Pankaj, you will serve as the manager of Shivaji shipyard in Kochi, Kerala."

"I want each of you to lead separate teams and train more mid-level shipbuilding talents, which can be used in the civilian shipbuilding industries in the future. Out of the 100 Hampi class warship orders from the government, forty ships will be manufactured in Raya shipyard, and the remaining sixty ships will be distributed equally among the three other shipyards."

"Devendra, how long will it take to manufacture a single ship?"

Hearing the question, Devendra responded instantly, "Your Highness, Raya shipyard is now capable of manufacturing a single Hampi class ship in a day because of the readily available materials and all the talent concentrated here. But once the split happens, I am positive that the other three shipyards will not be able to perform to the standards of Raya shipyard."

Hearing his reply, the rest of the people chosen as managers did not feel offended, as they were very clear that what Devendra was saying was not false.

"Don't worry about that; that is one of the reasons I gave Raya shipyard a larger quota. It doesn't matter if the other shipyards are a little slow; after some experience, they will eventually catch up with Raya shipyard. Now, I need the four leaders to pick 50 people each from the 200 talents."

The leaders were looking left and right, as they had no clue how to pick. But Devendra suddenly started to call out names. Realizing the situation they were currently in, they also rose to the occasion and picked 50 people.

Satisfied with the split, Vijay went back to the capital as the shipbuilders also left for their respective shipyards.

He called for a government meeting and brought forward the formation of the Coast Guard. Unsurprisingly, without any opposition, the bill was passed.

The Coast Guard was then established directly under the Ministry of Military Affairs. The Coast Guard is responsible for patrolling the coast of the Empire, keeping the trade routes clear of any pirates, preventing smuggling operations, and supporting the two man-of-war battleships. When necessary, it acts as the main spearhead in a naval battle. The 22 ships that were already manufactured were bought by the government, and 20 sloops were assigned to the new Coast Guard division. Two ships were assigned to the police department in case of internal security issues near the inland rivers.

A hundred more new Hampi class sloops were ordered to the four shipyards according to Vijay's order. Vijay also sent a letter to all four shipyards to procure simple materials like the steering wheel, anchor, and wooden planks from other workshops in the empire, thereby concentrating the human resources on the important parts of the ship and also creating a new industry chain driven by the Marine sector.