From the Ship
Press Release: Peace Boat to Set Sail after Three Years, A Global Voyage Appealing for Peace in Ukraine
On Friday April 7, Peace Boat will set sail from its home port of Yokohama for the first time in three years. The voyage will be the first around-the-world cruise to and from Japan after COVID, carrying 1,400 passengers on Peace Boat’s new vessel, the M/V Pacific World (77,441t). Peace Boat celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and continues to commit to connecting people to people and advocating for peace through grassroots exchange across borders.
A special focus of this voyage will be humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees. Since the Russian military invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Peace Boat Disaster Relief (PBV) has raised a total of 150 million yen (including grants) to support partner organizations conducting humanitarian relief activities in Ukraine and the neighbouring region.
This voyage, Peace Boat’s 114th, will welcome Captain Viktor Alymov from Odessa, Ukraine, as the Honorary Captain (Commodore). Captain Alymov has served as the captain of Peace Boat Voyages since 2009, taking more than 10,000 passengers from Japan around the world. On board the ship, activities to raise funds for humanitarian aid for Ukraine will be held. Moreover, a group of participants will leave the ship temporarily from the port of Piraeus, Greece and directly deliver donated funds and relief supplies to aid organizations in Romania.
The participants visiting Romania will also visit the port city of Constanta, where Captain Alymov has taken refuge, to hear directly from Ukrainian refugees living there. Dialogue and exchange among citizens and the concrete support that can stem from such interaction is needed more than ever at this moment. We will continue to appeal for peace as we connect with Ukrainian people in ports of call around the world.
A press conference will take place in Yokohama prior to the ship’s departure as follows.
Press Conference: Peace Boat Voyage’s Departure (Yokohama)
Friday, April 7, 2023, 10:00 am -10:45 am
Rooftop space, Yokohama Osambashi International Passenger Cruise Terminal
Speakers
Viktor ALYMOV (Honorary Captain (Commodore) of Peace Boat, from Ukraine)
TAKAHASHI Kazuo (International Politics Expert, Professor Emeritus of Open University Japan)
UEKUSA Natsumi (University Student, visiting Romania during the voyage)
HATAKEYAMA Sumiko (Executive Committee, Peace Boat)
YOSHIOKA Tatsuya (Founder and Director, Peace Boat)
Streaming of the press conference is available from here (click).
From 12:20pm, the Departure Ceremony will be held in parallel on the ship’s deck and on the terminal. The ship is scheduled to depart at 1:00pm. Please feel free to take photos/videos of the ceremony and the departure scene. However, embarkation procedure of passengers may require additional time due to COVID preventative measures. The exact time of departure will be announced at the press conference.
Enquiries
Peace Boat Office: 03-3363-8047, (Sumiko Hatakeyama / mobile: 070-8577-2576)