HECTOR N (IMO: 9384100) Table Bay, Cape Town
HECTOR N (IMO 9384100): Chemical Tanker in Table Bay
Explore HECTOR N (IMO 9384100), a 2008-built oil and chemical products tanker, and its connection to Cape Town, Table Bay and South African maritime traffic.
HECTOR N (IMO: 9384100)
HECTOR N (IMO: 9384100) is a substantial ocean-going tanker whose presence in South African waters provides another useful subject for the developing maritime observation record of Vernon Chalmers Photography. At 183 metres in length and with a beam of approximately 27 metres, she represents a class of vessel whose working purpose is closely connected to the movement of liquid commodities through the international maritime economy.Built in 2008 at Guangzhou Shipyard International in China, HECTOR N is classified as an oil/chemical products tanker. Her gross tonnage is approximately 24,112 tonnes and her summer deadweight is 38,402 tonnes. She sails under the Panamanian flag, carries the callsign 3FEL3, and is managed by Navios Tankers Management Inc. from Piraeus, Greece. The registered owner is Persephone Shipping Corporation.
The dimensions and capacity place HECTOR N in the broad Handy-size tanker category. This is an important sector of commercial shipping because vessels of this scale offer operational flexibility: they are large enough to move significant quantities of liquid cargo internationally while remaining capable of serving a wider range of ports than the very large tankers associated with major crude-oil routes. Maritime databases classify HECTOR N specifically as an oil/chemical tanker, reflecting this mixed liquid-cargo capability.
Vernon Chalmers Maritime Studies
A Vessel with a Changing Identity
HECTOR N also illustrates an interesting characteristic of merchant shipping: a vessel's identity can change while its IMO number remains constant.
The ship has carried several names during her working life. Records identify earlier names including Meriom Gem, King Har, King Edgar and Swamp Fox, with King Edgar being recorded until 2013. The IMO number, however, remains the permanent numerical identity of the vessel. This distinction is particularly important to maritime researchers and shipspotters because a photograph found under an earlier name can still be connected conclusively to the same ship through its IMO number.
For the photographer, this provides a useful reminder that the name painted on a ship is only one part of its identity. The IMO number effectively creates a historical thread through changes of ownership, management, flag and vessel name.
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HECTOR N and South African Waters
HECTOR N has an established presence in South African maritime traffic. Ship-tracking records show repeated calls at Cape Town and Durban, with the vessel also operating along the South African east and south coasts. In July 2026, for example, records show movements between Cape Town and East London, while August tracking placed her again in the waters off the South African coast.
Her Cape Town connection is particularly relevant to the maritime observation work surrounding Table Bay. A tanker of 183 metres presents a very different photographic subject from the harbour tugs, fishing vessels, bulk carriers and passenger ships that may also be observed around Cape Town. Its relatively high freeboard, long continuous cargo deck and distinctive tanker superstructure provide strong visual indicators of vessel type.
The tanker is also a reminder that Cape Town's maritime landscape cannot be understood simply through the ships that originate from the port. Table Bay forms part of a much larger network connecting the South African coastline with international commercial routes. Vessels such as HECTOR N enter this landscape temporarily, perform their port or coastal operations, and then continue their voyages.
Table Bay Maritime Environment Through Photography
The Ship as a Photographic Subject
From a photographic perspective, HECTOR N is particularly interesting because tanker design is highly functional. Unlike passenger ships, where accommodation, leisure facilities and branding can dominate the visual structure, the tanker presents a more utilitarian composition.
The long red hull, extensive working deck, cargo-handling equipment and elevated bridge structure create strong horizontal and vertical relationships. The vessel's bow and anchor arrangement provide additional visual markers, while the separation between the cargo area and accommodation block makes the operational logic of the ship comparatively easy to read in a well-composed photograph.
This makes HECTOR N more than simply another vessel to record. It becomes an opportunity to practise visual classification through photography: identifying vessel type, interpreting structural features, recording its IMO identity and placing the individual ship within the broader maritime system.
Ship Spotting as Photography Hobby
Recording a Working Ship
HECTOR N is not a spectacular vessel in the conventional sense. There is no cruise-ship architecture or naval symbolism attached to her appearance. Her significance lies instead in her function.
She is a working merchant vessel designed to transport liquid cargo safely and efficiently. Her existence is therefore connected to the largely invisible infrastructure through which energy and chemical products move around the world.
For maritime photography, this is precisely what makes vessels such as HECTOR N worthwhile subjects. Shipspotting becomes a form of observational documentation: the photograph records not only an object on the water but also a moment in the continuing operation of global maritime commerce.
With an IMO number of 9384100, a history extending back to her construction in 2008, and a documented pattern of South African port activity, HECTOR N offers a useful case study within the evolving maritime archive of Cape Town.
The vessel is therefore best understood not merely as HECTOR, but as HECTOR N — IMO 9384100: a 183-metre chemical/oil products tanker whose changing identity, international career and recurring presence in South African waters make her a worthwhile subject for contemporary maritime observation and photography.
Photographic Equipment
Camera: Canon EOS R6 Mark III
Lens: Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens
Photographic Genre: Maritime Photography / Ship Spotting
Location: Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
References
AIS Friends. (2025). HECTOR N (IMO 9384100) vessel particulars.
Maritime Optima. (2026). HECTOR N — IMO 9384100.
MyShipTracking. (2026). HECTOR N — IMO 9384100.
U.S. Coast Guard. (2026). Certificate of financial responsibility vessel status report.
VesselFinder. (2026). HECTOR N — IMO 9384100.
ShipSpotting. (2026). HECTOR N — IMO 9384100.
