Dog days sometimes used for the lethargic summer markets. Various computations of the dog days have placed their start anywhere from 3 July to 15 August and lasting for anywhere from 30 to 61 days. They may begin or end with the cosmical rising or heliacal rising of either Sirius in Canis Major or Procyon (the "Little Dog Star") in Canis Minor and vary by latitude, not even being visible throughout much of the Southern Hemisphere. Sirius observes a period of almost exactly 365¼ days between risings, keeping it largely consistent with the Julian but not the Gregorian calendar; nonetheless, its dates
MV Sirius Star loaded with oil. She was estimated to be worth approximately , with her cargo worth at least . "Sirius Star" was released on 9 January 2009 after payment of a US $3 million ransom. Three other VLCCs that have been ransomed by pirates are "Samho Dream", "Maran Centaurus" and "Irene SL". "Sirius Star" is a double-hulled oil tanker with a length overall of , a beam of , a hull depth of , and a draft of . She can carry of crude oil. She has a gross tonnage of 162,252 and a total cargo capacity of . Vessels of