Ship sponsor

{{Short description|Person selected to provide good luck to a seagoing vessel}}

{{more citations needed|date=June 2013}}

File:Sponsor of USS Wichita (LCS-13) smashes champagne bottle over bow of ship during christening ceremony US Navy 160917-N-N0101-100.jpg, sponsor of USS Wichita (LCS-13), breaks a bottle of champagne on the ship during a christening ceremony in 2016]]

A ship sponsor, by tradition, is a female civilian who is invited to "sponsor" a vessel, presumably to bestow good luck and divine protection over the seagoing vessel and all that sail aboard.Eyers, Jonathan (2011). Don't Shoot the Albatross!: Nautical Myths and Superstitions. A&C Black, London, UK. {{ISBN|978-1-4081-3131-2}}. In the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard, the sponsor is technically considered a permanent member of the ship's crew and is expected to give a part of her personality to the ship, as well as advocate for its continued service and well-being. For passenger ships the sponsor is called a godmother if the sponsor is female, or a godfather if the sponsor is male.