NORMAN Parkin, of Victoria Road, Dartmouth, writes: Following the article by Steve Peacock on cruise ships, it must be good for both the town and the Dart Harbour Navigation Authority that we see as many cruise ships in the river as ­possible. Why has there been such a lack of vessels recently? Is it because tugs now have to be brought in from Fowey (at a cost unwilling to be borne by the cruise companies), or is it because the mainstream buoys cannot currently be lifted? Hercules, the Dart Harbour lifting barge, has been out of action for most of the summer. Are these the reasons for the disastrous lack of cruise liners and the inevitable drop in income to the town, or is there something we don't know? In the commercial world, someone's head would roll. This absence must have cost us all dear (town and river stakeholders). The shopkeepers may be indifferent to these visits, but we, the townsfolk, welcome them.