Sea ceremony
In the 19th century, the formalities observed in shipping traffic were referred to as maritime ceremonies , in particular the honors customary in the international traffic community, which had to be shown both when meeting on the high seas and when navigating foreign sea areas.
This includes in particular the so-called ship's salute , which consisted of raising the flag and firing cannon shots and was returned with the counter-salute. In 1970, in the merchant navy of the GDR, the flag greeting was only used by traditional captains: only ships belonging to their own shipping company were greeted. With the greeting of the flag the ship began, which was moving towards the home port. It raised its flag to half mast. In response, the ship passing in the opposite direction raised its flag to half-mast and then up again. Only then did the first ship to start saluting the flag raise the flag again.
There was also the vivat call and a volley of rifles . The laying up of the ship and the sending of one or more officers on rounds were also part of the ship's label. In this way, the warships that met each other would salute one another.