Not every historic vessel can be saved and not every historic vessel should be saved. The difficult question is deciding which are worthy of saving before they fall prey to the ravages of time or, in this case, the bureaucracy. A story from today’s Daily Mail:
Mine-sweeper ship that defied the Germans on D-Day set to be scrapped for health and safety reasons
She survived everything the Germans could throw at her during the Second World War. Converted into a mine-sweeper, Paddle Steamer Ryde escaped North Sea torpedo attacks and shot and shell during the D-Day landings. She even came through a serious fire later in her life.
Now the 223ft vessel – the world’s last coal-powered, sea-going paddle steamer and one of the few surviving ships used at Normandy – is finally being sunk – by bureaucracy.
The once-grand boat is languishing at a mooring on the Isle of Wight and, without warning, work has begun to break her up amid health and safety concerns. This is to the fury of a group of enthusiasts who have been trying to buy her with the aim of one day restoring her to her former glory. PS Ryde – which is on the National Historic Ships register – is in the hands of receivers after the company that owns her went bust last year. But those who wanted to buy her can’t understand why the administrators did not accept their offer, which they thought would be of mutual benefit to the creditors and Britain’s maritime heritage.
Mark Young, one of the trustees of the Ryde Preservation Trust, said: ‘During her life she has been a pleasure craft, a war ship, a gin palace, a hotel and a nightclub – and unfortunately she is now a wreck.
‘She has survived a bad fire when she was a nightclub but we believe that if she is restored we could run her as a tourist vessel.