World-conquering Amazon supremo Jeff Bezos has shown a more sentimental side by naming his new ro-ro after his mother.
It can sometimes be tricky to find the right gift for one's nearest and dearest, but the tycoon pulled it off with a surprise unveiling of the 2,175-lane-metre Jacklyn (built 2004) in Florida this week.
The former Stena Freighter was acquired in 2018 as a rocket recovery vessel for Bezos' space venture Blue Origin.
The ship has now been refurbished to act as a floating landing zone for the reusable first stage of the company's rocket, known as New Glenn.
Bezos, usurped on Wednesday as the world's richest man by Tesla's Elon Musk, posted a video of the christening by champagne bottle on Instagram.
Surprise!
He said: "My siblings and I surprised our mom today."
"New Glenn's first stage will come home to Jacklyn after every flight. It couldn't be more appropriately named — Mom has always given us the best place and the best heart to come home to," Bezos added.
The rocket's first stage will be used up to 25 times.
The Jacklyn will be based in the Atlantic Ocean, with the first launch planned from Kennedy Space Center later this year.
Blue Origin has spent more than $2.5bn on the scheme.
NASA has awarded the company a contract that will allow the rocket to compete for missions that would launch planetary, Earth observation, exploration and scientific satellites.
Not to be outdone, Musk's rival SpaceX programme has already named two drone recovery ships Of Course I Still Love You and Just Read the Instructions.
Both names were previously used to refer to sentient, planet-size spaceships in The Player of Games, a science fiction novel written by the late Iain M Banks, of whom Musk is a fan.
Two other Musk vessels have been named Ms Tree and Ms Chief.
