"Online Launching Ceremony" Unusual Due to New Corona Effect Ehime Imabari June 9th 17:09
While the movement of refraining from movement continued due to the spread of new coronavirus infection, at a shipyard in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, I attended using a video conference system for those who could not attend the launch ceremony of the ship directly. An unusual "online launch ceremony" was held.
On the 9th, a shipbuilding company in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture held a launch ceremony for a chemical tanker at a shipyard, which was ordered by a shipping company in Tokyo.
However, as ship owners' shipping companies and shippers' representatives, who were scheduled to visit as guests, were refraining from moving due to the effects of the new coronavirus, they forgot to attend the ceremony.
The shipbuilding company installed three small cameras and speakers at the venue so that the launching ceremony can be viewed from a remote location, and the launching ceremony was established by connecting the venue and Tokyo online using the video conference system. I was invited to attend.
After the Shinto ritual was held at the ceremony, the consignor in Tokyo shouted over the terminal to give a signal.
When the voice echoed to the shipyard, the rope supporting the ship was cut, and the ship slowly launched while the fanfare reverberated.
The launch ceremony is an important ritual that all the people concerned gather together to float the constructed ship on the sea for the first time, but according to a group in the shipbuilding industry, it is extremely unusual to connect the launch ceremony online. is.
“I am glad that the ceremony was attended from a distance,” said Hiroyuki Kimoto, President of Hakata Zosen Co., Ltd.