Sirius its constellation, Canis Major (Greater Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians in the Southern Hemisphere the star marked winter and was an important reference for their navigation around the Pacific Ocean. The brightest star in the night sky, Sirius is recorded in the earliest astronomical records. Its displacement from the ecliptic causes this heliacal rising to be remarkably regular compared to other stars, with a period of almost exactly 365.25 days holding it constant relative to the
MV Sirius Star subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian state oil company Saudi Aramco. Since her launch, the ship has been registered under the Liberian flag and homeported in Monrovia. On 17 November 2008, the U.S. Navy announced "Sirius Star" was hijacked by Somali pirates. Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, said the pirates hijacked the very large crude carrier at about 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, 15 November, while she was southbound, about southeast of the coast of Kenya at — the farthest out to sea Somali pirates have struck. The attack also made "Sirius Star" the largest vessel