Rarely have Britain’s cross-Channel ferry services been under such scrutiny. And rarely has a small maritime start-up faced such an onslaught of hostile press attention as Seaborne Freight.

But sadly, rather less rare has been the sight of abject government incompetence and failure to plan and deliver a practical strategy to solve a difficult problem.

The Seaborne saga that whipped up in recent days has been a textbook example of what happens when a story gets out of control.