On April 22, 2022, the Aegean Sea (or at least the portion of it including the Straight of Makronisos and the Petalioi Gulf) had a shiny almost glass-like or even “icy” look to it. It was very calm but the sun was hidden behind clouds when I looked out and saw the red-hulled ship plying it’s way toward the straight. I grabbed my camera with the Nikkor 70-300mm zoom lens and took a few shots. The photo above was taken with the lens set at 270mm.
I didn’t have much time to look at the photos but today I thought I’d try to make out the name on the bow of the ship. Zooming in on the original photo which was 4946 X 3278 pixels, I was able to make out the first part of the name, “DONNA” but the second part gave me some difficulty. I took a chance that it was “JUDI” and did a search.
Sure enough, it turns out this ship is named the Donna Judi and is registered in St Vincent & Grenadines. It was originally built in 2011 (South Korea) and named GIOVANNA and owned by Albatros Seacarriers Ltd.
The day I saw the ship, it was enroute to Lavrio, Greece after having departed Istanbul the day before.
Today, it’s headed toward Jorf Lasfar, Morocco according to VesselFinder. Another thing I found interesting is that one is able to track ships with VesselFinder – including with an embedded map:
I also cropped the larger photo so that you can see more details of the ship:
And of course, a close up view of the bow of the ship, showing it’s name:
I’ve always been fascinated with ships and wondering where they are coming from, where they might be going, and what ports they have seen. An interest my father passed on to me.