Riverdance rescue lingers on

The ferry Riverdance has been in the news since the beginning of February which I have blogged here. Rescue efforts have been mounted ever since. But discouraging news came this morning from BBC with a discouraging headline "Bad storms defeat ferry salvagers"

Storms and high tides have delayed hopes of refloating the stricken Riverdance ferry on Blackpool beach.

Salvage experts, who were hoping to have moved the vessel by this week, have been defeated by the weather.

The ferry had been heading from Warrenpoint, County Down, to Heysham, Lancashire, when she was hit by a freak wave on 31 January.

along with this rather depressing picture:

and these further details:

She is now almost on her side with a list of 87 degrees and has sunk into the sand on the Lancashire beach.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is still optimistic the vessel can be refloated over the next couple of weeks.

Twenty-three people were lifted to safety from the ferry when it ran aground six weeks ago, including 19 crew and four passengers.

We wish the best of luck to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Hope the final defeat is the BBC's headline writers. Storms are bad, but Riverdance will be refloated! At any rate, the fact that all four passengers and 19 crew members are safely rescued is something to cheer. There is just no simple solutions against nature's agilities. But human ingenuity will ultimately prevail!

I might add this observation: The Riverdance case has command worldwide attention of objective journalists except those drive-by media. That's why people in U.S. have heard very little about those severe storms in Europe in recent days. If it can't be blamed on ExxonMobil or all you SUV drivers, why should the New York National Enquirer, umm, the N. Y. Times care?