Sending them home by boat was no Dunkirk-like evacuation, and yet it failed.

The huddled, hungry, drenched stranded travellers painstakingly complied with all the health and police requirements, only to be denied boarding because of a new requirement. Their dreams of going home capsized on land.

Transportation protocols should not change as often as the sea tide.

The North Harbor fiasco is a wake-up call as loud as a ship horn blast to those responsible for the sea travel of residents who are medically-cleared to return to their homes.