Kirk attracted some media attention when he was first named the captain, due to the similarity of his name to that of the Star Trek television character Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner.
Kirk menarik beberapa perhatian media ketika ia pertama kali ditunjuk sebagai kapten, karena kesamaan namanya dengan karakter serial televisi Star Trek, James T. Kirk, yang diperankan oleh William Shatner.