MOL Introduces FOCUS Project Part Ⅲ: Virtual Ship Visit Application 'Fleet Tour'
- Reinforcing Use/Application of ICT under COVID-19 Pandemic -

August 04, 2020

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) today announced the release of the "Fleet Tour" virtual ship visit application using the Ricoh Theta, a 360-degree camera and the Theta 360.biz a virtual tour production service, both from Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President, CEO & Representative Director: Yoshinori Yamashita; Headquarters: Ota-ku, Tokyo). This is part Ⅲ of the FOCUS Project, following the "Fleet Viewer" (Note 2) application, which monitors vessel operation data, and "Fleet Performance" (Note 3) application that tracks vessel performance.

Ship management companies and operators can browse 360-degree onboard images and videos from anywhere using PCs and smart phones, and intuitively experience various places on the ship as if they were visiting in person.

MOL Ship Management Co., Ltd. (MOLSHIP; President: Takakage Imai; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo), an MOL Group core dry bulkship management company, has already adopted the application, in move to enhance the quality of their ship management services.

The MOL Group works to enhance safe operation by comparing fixed points in important areas such as the deck, cargo holds, and the engine room, and horizontally developing group-wide expertise and marine engineering know-how through addition of special notes on photographic images, in cooperation with MOLSHIP and other ship management companies that are familiar onboard operations and procedures.

MOL Group land-based employees have limited opportunities to visit all areas onboard giant vessels over 300m long, especially in relatively short in-person visits. This makes it hard to intuitively grasp the ship structure through drawings and conventional planar images. But the "Fleet Tour" application addresses such issues. In addition, the MOL Group expects this to be particularly effective as an ICT-based approach to vessel inspection, considering the difficulty of conducting in-person ship visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the FOCUS project, MOL continually strives to expand the development and adoption of applications that use in-service fleet operation data, with the aim of creating applications that grow along with users' needs. The company seeks to offer stress-free transport services with greater safety and reduced environmental impact.

(Note 1) Please refer to October 15, 2018 press release:
Launching of the "FOCUS" Project - Collaborative Innovation Transcending Business Categories; ICT-based, Data-driven Project Aims at Safer Operation and Cleaner Environment -

(Note 2) Please refer to May 21, 2019 press release:
MOL Announces Release of FOCUS Project Part Ⅰ 'Fleet Viewer' Application Aimed at Enhancing Ship Management - Stress-free Operation with Big Data Analysis -

(Note 3) Please refer to February 21, 2020 press release:
Release of FOCUS Project Part Ⅱ 'Fleet Performance' Application Aimed at Monitoring Fleet Performance in Actual Operation -Stress-free Operation with Big Data Analysis-