Ship godmothers are usually drawn from the owner’s family — or even the ranks of celebrity.
But Turkey’s Yasa Shipping rewarded a Clarksons sale-and-purchase broker at the naming of a handysize bulker in China.
Katrine Birkholm, of Clarksons Denmark, christened the 40,500-dwt Yasa Daisy at Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering (JNS).
The deal “highlights the partnership between Clarksons and Yasa”, London-headquartered Clarksons said.
The vessel was contracted by Nicolai Kofoed, managing director of Clarksons Denmark, and newbuilding director Peter Love.
Kofoed recommended Birkholm as godmother.
Birkholm said: “A big thank you to Yasa for allowing me to be the godmother of their vessel and to JNS for arranging such a beautiful ceremony.”
The Yasa Daisy is the sixth in a series of 10 vessels commissioned at the yard.
The next delivery is scheduled for March.
The naming ceremony, held on 25 January, was the first at the yard for eight years.
Champagne, fireworks and music
The ceremony kicked off with a speech by JNS vice president Victor Sheng Li, before Birkholm christened the vessel and began the ceremonial cutting of the rope to crack the champagne.
Following the ceremony, guests were invited on board for a tour of the bridge by the captain.
“Katrine will continue to follow the crew and the vessel closely on their travels, maintaining regular communication with the captain and crew members for updates from around the world. She also plans to revisit the vessel when it docks in Denmark,” Clarksons said.
Birkholm added: “Having the honour of being the godmother at my first delivery is very special and something I will forever remember. Getting to travel to places where tourists usually wouldn’t go is one of the perks of our job, and getting to do it at the age of 23 is very special.”
