Stricken ferry on her way to Valencia

Residents are not pleased, as they consider that it has been the ferry owner’s wishes which have been the factor in the ship going to Sagunto.The ferry Sorrento, which caught fire on Tuesday last week some eighteen miles from Majorca, will, after all, be towed to the port of Sagunto in Valencia.
The national government delegate to the Balearics, Teresa Palmer, confirmed yesterday that Sagunto was the preferred option and that the operation to tow the ferry was already being prepared.
According to the port authority in Valencia, the ship’s owners, Grimaldi, had formally requested that the Sorrento should be taken to Sagunto.
The authority says that the ferry is due to arrive in the port tomorrow  morning.
It is expected that it will take up to thirty hours to actually tow the ship.
The government’s delegate to Valencia, Serafin Castellano, explained that the priority was to ensure that there was no environmental risk from the ferry and so to address all issues of safety as they relate to regulations as established by the national Martime Authority.
Avoiding pollution dangers was, Castellano added, “the most important requirement in towing the ship”.