Well Bottler Brown finally has pulled his finger out and done something about it -
too little too late. 3 Royal Navy ships have been mobilised.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8628878.stm
Cruise ships/ferries etc could have been requisitioned under emergency powers etc and sent out. My friends were on the Oriana which returned to Southampton yesterday from Brest - it's now gone off on it's scheduled Western Med cruise with 1900 punters. Their cruise should have been cancelled and the ship used to bring home those stranded.