She was the biggest ship that Geest Line has employed on the Europe-Caribbean service in over 50 years and there's no doubt the Ditlev Lauritzen raised a few eyebrows during her port stays.

The 17,000 tonnes vessel is over 160 metres long and the largest reefer vessel in the world. When Geest Line docked its Klipper and Timor Stream for regular maintenance, the Ditlev was seen as the ideal alternative rather than allowing the weekly service to be disrupted.

With over 760,000 cubic feet of cargo space, the Ditlev was a giant to fill but sailed more than 70 per cent full with general cargo as she made the best part of two round trips under the Geest banner.

Part of the Family Class of ships, the Ditlev was built in the same Danish yard as the former Geest St.Lucia and Geest Dominica so she was from good, reliable pedigree.

And the ship was also in good hands. Indeed, it was almost a family affair with the Master Captain Kim Mikkelsen's father having been in command when the ship sailed on her maiden voyage 18 years ago.