News from the sea.

(From Lloyds List)

Summertime , and across the UK and much of Europe, from the happy isles of the Peleponnese to the Baltic, there will be a public focus upon the sea. True, almost all this will be devoted to leisure and pleasure, and as always the passage of merchant ships along the far horizon will go unremarked, but it is perhaps the one time of the year when the interests of those who make their living upon the great waters, and those who merely paddle in it, coincide.

For this reason, we should welcome pretty much any efforts that are made to acquaint the wider public with maritime issues. The BBC, for instance, perhaps because of the considerable interest sparked by its 'Coast' series, is to make another, in which it promises to go deeper into what living on an island is all about.

This week, a short series on the sea itself kicks off with the immensely telegenic operations of a couple of Peterhead fishing boats.

For those who feel that 'The Perfect Storm' might have been a trifle hyped up, there is also the terrible true story of the Penlee lifeboat disaster, in which the entire crew of a lifeboat was lost trying to save those aboard the disabled coaster Union Star .

In both productions we see the awesome power of the sea. It is a useful reminder to 21st century technical man, who believes that nature really can be tamed.

It would be good if the broadcasters continue in this theme and explore something of the world of the merchant ship, that essential service that we depend upon without ever being aware that it is doing such an important job.