An Andriaki Shipping master has received widespread acclaim on social media for his photograph of seals relaxing on the bulbous bow of his tanker.

Ioannis Kleitsinaris, who has been with the Greek owner for 13 years, spotted the group sunning themselves while the unnamed ship was at anchorage in the port of Long Beach in the US.

He posted the picture to LinkedIn and received a spate of favourable comments, not all entirely serious.