Wales - A cargo ship's Cowes-bound 3,000 tonne rock payload is being hunted on the Welsh seabed by RAF search and rescue pilot Prince William following the sinking of the Swanland today.
Coastguard sources were keen to stress that the rocks are all limestone - and not the rumored Colombian/Bolivian narcotic variety - despite reports of a Latin American cocaine sub's distress signal being picked up somewhere off Lands End.
"This is William's big chance to shine," is how one RAF Valley mechanic put it, "although of course there's no question of any bounty; these search and rescue guys are strictly not on commission."
Quite what the vessel was doing humping rocks between Abergele and the Isle of White remains a mystery.
One suggestion is that an indigenous Cowes shortage means part of the harbor is caving in and needs huge ballast deposits to shore up some rather nasty seismic cracks.
These appeared soon after the Isle of Wight earthquake, circa 1953, when part of Shanklin fell into the English Channel.
An update on the rescue mission is expected anon.
