[ExGeeEye]

Japanese question: I know that Maru has to do with "ship" (the only example I can think of is the Starfleet Training Exercise Kobiyashi Maru), and that -chan is a suffix of endearment as in the vey weird cartoon Shin-chan...

Therefore...

Does Maruchan, makers of Ramen, mean something like "Dear Ship", or is it a coincidence?

[TalonDJ]

Does Maruchan, makers of Ramen, mean something like "Dear Ship", or is it a coincidence?

Coincidence. Sort of like if someone was wondering if the 'coin' in coincidence had something to do with money. But... chan can also imply smallness or immaturity. And Maru means something different than 'boat' (I forget) so even if the root words were the same the meaning implied could be a lot different than that.