The IMI

She was first visible far out on the horizon, at the limit of my camera's zoom, little more than a hazy rectangle until....

....her fo'c's'le emerged. My father, who knew his ships, would have called her 'hull down', the ship part-hidden by the curvature of the earth and looking as if she is climbing over a hill.

It took some minutes for her to be 'hull up', revealing that she was probably a bulk carrier - which was confirmed when the website marinetraffic.com was consulted. She was the Bahamas-registered IMI en route from Riga to Reykjavik, though she perhaps isn't in any hurry as she is currently anchored in the Dornoch Firth.

The rather unimaginative name IMI comes from her owners, a new shipyard venture, International Maritime Industries, which is backed by Saudi money and seems to aim to build ships for the offshore oil and gas industries.