- Date of Award：2023/09/11
- Prize-winner：The University of Tokyo
- Name and brief description of the award received：The Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers, a public interest incorporated association, certifies maritime heritage with historical significance as “Fune Heritage” and aligns with its mission to raise awareness within society and to ensure its transmission to future generations as cultural heritage. The University of Tokyo, Ship Navigation Performance Test Basin is the first basin dedicated to seakeeping and maneuverability experiments in the world. Despite its non-existing facility, it has been certified as a “Fune Heritage” within the category of <ship research-related facilities and equipment>.
- Award-winning research and activities：It was the first seakeeping basin globally equipped with a computer-controlled X-Y towing train system, thus serving as the foundation for the development of water tanks and basins of its kind. This basin has contributed to advancing research on the navigational performance of ships and various offshore structures necessitating a vast water surface area for experimentation. Notably in the field of maneuverability, an innovative test method called CMT (Circular Motion Test) was developed as an alternative to the conventional specialized circular water tank. This innovative method swiftly as the standard approach in assessing maneuverability.
- Future aspirations, impressions, etc.：Although the basin is not preserved, we proceed the studies on ships and offshore structures utilizing the other water tank facilities in the University of Tokyo.
