TOKYO, April 19. /TASS/. The opening ceremony for the annual Nagasaki Tall Ships Festival was held on Thursday in Japan’s city of Nagasaki in the south-west of the country. The event organizers reported that five ships are participating this year, including the Pallada, a three-masted frigate.

"This is the 19th festival and the first was held in 2000. The [Russian] ships Pallada and Nadezhda annually take part in it. This year the Pallada came to us for the 10th time," Shinichi Urakawa, spokesperson for the Nagasaki city tourism department, told TASS over the phone.

The Pallada, which displaces 2,987 tonnes, became the largest participant of the maritime festival that will run until April 23. Four Japanese ships are also docked at the port of Nagasaki, among them the Nippon Maru (displacement of 2,570 tonnes) and the Miraie sailing vessel.

Visitors to the festival will be able to board each ship and participate in different events devoted to maritime topics. Colorful illuminations will adorn the port of Nagasaki in the evening.

"Tourists will study the vessels’ everyday operation while onboard. Each crewmember will be precisely at his position at this time. As for communicating with sailors, visitors aboard the Pallada who can speak Russian and English will be able to do so. They will also be able to take pictures with seamen with their consent," Urakawa noted.

The Pallada is one of the most famous Russian tall ships. The three-mastered frigate was built in 1989 in Gdansk and designed for training cadets at maritime educational institutions for representation purposes and for participating in international tall ships races and festivals. The Far Eastern State Fishery Technical University operates the vessel. The barque made about 140 voyages and visited more than 100 ports across the world.