HAVING once been one of the top ship repair ports in the UK for the British Tanker Company, BP ships calling here is a rare occurrence these days.

On Wednesday the products tanker British Courtesy, one of 12 ships in BP’s Virtue Class arrived for repairs at the docks, berthing on the Duchy wharf.

All but one of these tankers were built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Company Limited in Korea, the other was constructed at Mitsubishi Heavy industries in Japan. They are British-flagged, with Douglas, Isle of Man as their port of registry.