Margaret and Ray Young will have lots to tell their family and friends now that they are home from their round-the-world cruise.

The sudden impounding of their ship off the coast of Madeira will add plenty of spice to the story of their three-month adventure.

But, of course, it is quite wrong that this act of piracy should have happened.

Nearly 500 passengers were caught up in a legal dispute between the administrators of Travelscope, the former cruiser operators, and the Portuguese authorities.

Why wasn't the liner allowed to continue its journey to Falmouth, and the wrangle sorted out there?

After all, the row was nothing to do with the passengers, and the ship wasn't going to disappear off the face of the earth.