The Albatros And The Pirates Of Galguduud. Federico Supervielle
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received one positive response. Some had given him the runaround as soon as they heard what he wanted. Others had promised to look into it and then had called him a few days later to tell him that what he wanted was not feasible. And the last group was made up of those who hadn’t replied yet.
At this point he was barely holding out hope. Everything had seemed so simple in Gotthelf’s office, or at least possible. But now he was facing the harsh reality. Pure logic dictates that the market doesn’t offer goods that have never been requested.
However, he wasn’t one to give up so easily and while he waited for good news or a brilliant idea he had moved on to the second part of his project: getting a crew.
Just like with the ship, common sense dictated that he would find the most qualified people in the military sector. But, same as with the ship he knew it wasn’t going to be feasible. He knew enough soldiers to know that their great sense of duty and service to their country would keep them from engaging in such an enterprise like the one he was proposing, especially the officers. Maybe he could convince a couple here or there but they wouldn’t be the best and he needed really good people.
He also knew that the most important ones were the captain and his officers. Most would want to select their own men. That was a good thing for two reasons: It would make for a united and committed crew. And second, it would relieve Reyes of an important burden of the job. A job he knew the future ship’s captain, if he ever found him, would be much better qualified than him to carry out. He was a strategist. He wasn’t used to working with such detail. And what better person than the one who was going to be in charge to select his own people?
It had been quite a few days since he had started looking for his future captain. After ruling out the military sector he had begun looking among the staff of shipping companies and related corporations with no success. Most of them had no experience in anything related. Which was, Reyes thought grimly, absolutely logical. Most of the very few that had experience (all of them from the Navy), had terrific contracts and awesome jobs that they were obviously not going to quit. The rest weren’t really good enough, or they were too old, or retired, or in one case, completely crazy.
For the first time since everything had started Reyes really thought that he was not going to make it. It was just too difficult.
However, he had never given up on something and this was not going to be the first time. That’s why he kept looking and making phone calls, moving heaven and earth and even underground. He was sure that by now all of Spain knew he was planning on putting together a ship to take to Somalia and hunt pirates. Maybe a little publicity couldn’t hurt, he thought.
That morning Gotthelf had called to inform him that the conversations with the Somali vice-president, whom he evidently knew, were going well and that Egger was starting to prepare drafts of the necessary documents. However, now they needed something more tangible in terms of the ship. In other words, they had done their part and the only thing left to do was his part.
Defeated and exhausted he went to bed. While he dozed off he thought that maybe the next day when his mind was fresh he would come up with a masterful idea.
#
At ten the next morning the previous night’s hope had vanished completely. After getting up early, showering and having a breakfast of coffee and toast, he had tackled the work with lots of energy. But now two hours of negative results had put him in a bad mood. There was just no way.
Then the phone rang.
Expecting another negative response in a list that seemed never-ending he picked up the phone.
“Yes.”
“Good morning, Jaime Reyes? My name is Felipe Nieto from Navantia in Cadiz.
“Hello Felipe, it’s me. How may I help you?”
Navantia in Cadiz. If he remembered correctly they had already responded with a resounding ‘no’ about a week ago. What could they possibly want?
On the other end of the line, a voice undeniably from Cadiz answered.
“Listen, when you told me about your project I honestly told you that we couldn’t do anything for you. To tell you the truth, I got the impression you weren’t surprised to hear that.”
Reyes let him keep talking.
“But the situation has changed considerably. As I’m sure you know, Portugal is going through some bad economic times and it seems as if in the last few months it’s gotten considerably worse.”
Reyes remained silent. He still didn’t see what all that had to do with this project. Felipe didn’t seem discouraged by the silence and continued.
“The thing is that our neighbors canceled the payments on all three BAMs they had ordered and, I must add, almost finished.”
Suddenly it seemed that time stood still. With that entire preamble, there must be a reason why they called him.
A million possibilities went through his head. BAMs (Maritime Action Ships) or Buques de Acción Marítima were Meteoro-class offshore patrol vessels designed in Spain. After the initial delivery of the first series to the Spanish Navy Portugal had ordered a few units from Navantia. And since the Spanish government benefited if the shipbuilders continued getting contracts, they agreed to sell their technology to those who, after all, were their allies and neighbors.
At just under three hundred and ten feet in length, reduced crew, capability to operate with just about any helicopter and a multitude of light weapons, it was the perfect ship for his project. And that was only what he could remember off the top of his head.
After pausing long enough for Reyes to assimilate the news, Felipe continued.
“After the shock from the news wore off a little I went to the director and told him about our conversation last week. He’s willing to listen to your proposal and, maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but, probably quite eager to get rid of those three ships.”
Reyes couldn’t believe his luck. He tried to calm himself and in doing so he realized that there may still be an obstacle to overcome.
“And what do you think Spain will say when they find out Navantia wants to sell their technology to a private company?”
“I have no idea,” Felipe answered frankly. “But the director seems to think that the government will do anything to save the company. I don’t think they want a bunch of people laid off with the elections right around the corner.”
Reyes was positive he’d never had this much luck in his life.
“Will you tell your boss I’ll be there first thing tomorrow?”
“Certainly.”
#
Five hours later, and definitely feeling more relaxed, Reyes was sitting in his first class seat on the 3:37 PM train to Cadiz. He still couldn’t believe his luck.
After a couple of phone calls to friends he could trust to confirm a few facts, he called Gotthelf in Switzerland and informed him he now had the perfect ship and that it was going to cost him less than one of his supertankers. Thank God BAM ships were relatively inexpensive. Items such as latest technology radars, combat systems (computers and hardware that control the weapons and sensors on board), missiles and sonar equipment, were what drove up the price of ships. But a patrol ship had no need for that kind of equipment. In spite of the price, Gotthelf had not even batted an eyelash. All he did was make sure that Reyes was certain it was the right ship and then all he had said was that, if that was the case, he agreed.
In spite of how much money Reyes knew that Gotthelf had, the ease with which he spent it still impressed him. Nevertheless, he was sure that Gotthelf was not a man who would squander his money. He knew what he wanted, and when he found it he didn’t mind spending whatever it cost.
Reyes had no idea what to expect when he arrived at the Navantia branch in Puerto Real the next morning. But everything seemed to be heading in the right direction. What’s more,