Angela Merkel Safmarine

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has taken part in a special naming ceremony at the Volkswerft Shipyard in the Port of Stralsund to welcome two new vessles into shipping group Safmarine's fleet.

The addition of the two new 2,500 TEU container vessels, Safmarine Nakuru and Safmarine Nuba, brings to seven the number of owned containerships named by the company so far this year.

The ships will be deployed on the trade lines between West Africa and Europe, and will each boast a crew complement of 17 people.

The ships were named by Mrs Merkel and Berlinda Oduro-Owusu, daughter of Mr Nana Oduro-Owusu, managing director of the Cocoa Marketing Company in Ghana.