There are always good reasons behind shipowners' choices of names for their vessels.
However, there are times when one wonders: "Where did they get that one from?"Over the years I have come across two vessels named Never on Sunday, and recent ship sales includes bulk carriers carrying the names Duck Fortune, Four Coal, Go Pride and IST.
With these thoughts in mind I focus on the comparatively new Piraeus-registered bulk carrier Oxygen, which calls at Ravensbourne next week.
The vessel is owned by Vita Beta Navigation S. A. E.n.e, a company managed by the Niovos Shipping Company S. A, of Piraeus.
Built and engined by the Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Company Ltd at Tamano, the vessel was delivered to the owners on March 6, 2009.
It is one of the design known as the "Mitsui 56" series, of which 150 have been ordered since they went into production in 2002.
Oxygen is the 81st of the series to enter service.
These vessels are powered by a six-cylinder, 9480kW, Mitsui MAN-B&W diesels, that gives a service speed of 14.5 knots.
Overall length is 189.99m, the moulded breadth 32.26m and the loaded draught 12.575m.
Served by four 30-tonne capacity deck cranes, this type has five holds with a total grain capacity of more than 70,800cu m.
At 31,284gt, Oxygen will become the third-largest visitor to the upper harbour.
The ship has a deadweight capacity of 55,525 tonnes.
Two other Panamanian-flag members of this series have called here, The 31,247gt Santa Anna, built in 2006 and on charter to Hamburg-Sud, berthed at Ravensbourne on March 12, 2007.
And the older 31,242gt, 2004-built, Triton Stork arrived there on February 10, 2008.
Since the Mediterranean Shipping Company first started calling here in March, 2006, the port has hosted an interesting assortment of vessels employed in its services.
The arrival of the chartered MSC Sardinia on its first visit last week brings the total to 33 owned or chartered vessels.
Between them they have made 247 visits.
The latest visitor is a 36,270gt, 43,270dwt, 241.10m long. 22-knot vessel with a container capacity of 3074TEU.
Now trading under its third name, the vessel was built at Okpo by the Daewoo yard and was completed on October 30, 1986.
The ship commenced trading for the Hanjin Shipping Company of Seoul, under the name Hanjn Hong Kong.
This name was retained when the ship was acquired by the Athens-based Tsakos group in 1998 and chartered back by the former owners.
In 2002 the prefix was deleted from the name and the following year the ship received its current name.
Last year the vessel was transferred within the Tsakos group from Cypriot to Liberian registry, and placed under the ownership of the Maribel Shipping Corporation.
