Interpreter Irma Sluis is a clear favourite in a poll to name the world’s biggest sea lock (sluis in Dutch) at IJmuiden…but sadly she will be shut out of consideration, Omroep West reports.

Around a thousand people have reacted so far to a request on July 7 from Velsen local council to propose a name for the lock. On social media too, the interpreter’s name has frequently been thrown up. ‘Like the lock, Irma Sluis forms a connection,’ commenters said.

Sluis shot to fame as a sign language interpreter during coronavirus press conferences with prime minister Mark Rutte and health minister Hugo de Jonge. Sluis herself is notoriously media-shy and has said in rare interviews she is not keen on her new-found celebrity. ‘It was just a coincidence I was asked for the press conferences, simply because I happen to live in The Hague,’ the broadcaster quotes her as saying.

However, Sluis does not have to worry about an eternal monument to her name because she will apparently not be chosen, no matter how many nominations she gets. A Velsen council spokesperson told the broadcaster that only the names of people who have been dead for over ten years are considered for big public infrastructure works, such as the lock.

Another name that has been mentioned is ‘Sluisje McSluisface’, in a reference to Boaty McBoatface, which was a popular suggestion in a poll to name a British polar research ship and ended up as the honorary name for a high-tech, remotely operated sub-sea vehicle.

The IJmuiden lock, which will be 500 metres long, 70 metres wide and 18 metres deep when completed in 2022, allows bigger ships to enter the Amsterdam port area and will secure the port’s future as an international hub, the ministry of infrastructure and water managements said.

People have until August 4 to propose names for the lock. After a consultation with Velsen locals, local authorities will choose the winner from a shortlist of five.