Yes, withdrawng these tugs does seem a bit foolhardy, I bet the French aren't doing the same. It's a bit like not taking out insurance because you house isn't actually very likely to burn down. I suspect they may come to regret that decision in the not too distant future. Presumably they can already recover the costs of dealing with incidents from those concerned so the net cost to the public purse is having the tugs on standby.
If the Government had been responsible for lifeboat services, as some people advocate, I wonder just how many stations would have been slated for closure in the spending review!
Colin
