Dear Mr Lewis,

You may remember that we met on the boat at Chattanooga last month. My wife and I had come across from Britain especially to have a trip on Delta Queen and were shocked to discover that she might be withdrawn because of a problem with her SOLAS exemption.

I think perhaps people may be missing the point. This is a world famous vessel - an essential part of America's heritage - which offers exactly the sort of experience that most Brits would regard as quintessentially American. Threshing stern paddle wheels, wonderful wooden panelling, a splendid saloon, deeply courteous crew taking pride in offering the sort of old fashioned service typical of the South and all travelling along small scale waterways which allow the visitor to see the detail of the country whilst appreciating its vast scale.

It is inconceivable that all this could be lost. And there is no reason why it should. The boat has now sailed for 80 years without, as far as I am aware, any loss of life on board other than from natural causes. It has a wooden superstructure to be sure, but more sprinklers and other safety devices than I've ever seen before in such a small space. In the unlikely event of fire breaking out it would be dealt with quickly. And to make things even safer, all cabins have easy access to the open deck and easy evacuation and Delta Queen is never more than a short distance from land anyway. The risk to life is negligible.If it were otherwise she would be uninsurable.

Safety regulations are of course vital. But they are at their best when they define ends rather than means. The commendable objective in this case is to save life - particularly from fire. A blanket ban on

one material or another is not necessary to achieve that - and fashions anyway change as to what is permissible, where.The question is whether Delta Queen meets high safety standards. There seems no doubt that she does. I myself would have no hesitation in spending any number of nights on her - and I say that as a Clydeside born person who has long worked in a highly safety conscious industry and has probably had more to do with boats than many. I'd certainly prefer to sleep on Delta Queen than any modern vessel with its high superstructure, maze of internal corridors and multiple flights of stairs between me and safe evacuation. And if she is safe then she must be allowed to continue, because she meets the purpose of the legislation, even if not its letter.

More important she is part of America and once stopped will never start again. Inactive ships rot quietly.That's not what should happen to such an important part of your heritage and your country's image to visitors.

What the solution is, is not of course for me to determine. Another exemption would do the trick for the moment. However the problem would re-occur in another ten years - and one can never predict the mood at a critical time. Better might be an amendment to existing legislation providing permanent exemption for any vessel that never operates (say) more more than one mile from land and has fire prevention and extinguishment measures that meet purpose.

I give every support to your effort to ensure the boat continues to sail. Feel free to copy any part of this letter to anyone you feel appropriate and please let me know if I can do anything to help by writing directly or encouraging others here to do so.

Very best

regards,

Iain Dewar