Built 1983 by Mitsui Co. in Ichihara, Chiba, Japan and christened MV Sono,[5] she sailed as a dry cargo ship under various names and flags until in 2010 she was converted into a Powership at the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey.

The ship was built in 1983 (according to some sources in 1984)[6] as a bulk carrier with deck mounted cranes[3] by the Japanese shipyard Mitsui Co in Ichihara, Chiba with yard number 1264 and was named Sono.

[10] The freighter Melpomeni was finally acquired in 2009 by Karpowership, a subsidiary of Karadeniz Holding, with the purpose to turn her into a floating power plant sailing under the Liberian flag.

[11] The Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul was commissioned by May 2009 with the task to convert the cargo ship into a Powership by installing the needed engine generators, transformers and the electric switchboards on board.

[6][14][15] Doğan Bey was moored at Berth #9 of Umm Qasr Port,[6] south-eastern Iraq, at the country's hub of imports and exports.