Re the last two posts
Volare, I wouldnt say its a priority but it is extremely important , a lot of stuff has to be imported that is time limited and only air will do unless the RMS ship continues. Also what will the high value tourists eat, they will be paying some very high prices for an exclusive holiday and will expect decent quality fresh food -readily available from S Africa but has to be shipped quickly.
Re Mr M the status of the vessel i suspect the problem with keeping it going is not the cost of servicing / updating the vessel which you point out is in decent shape anyway butt he political issue of runnign a service that was supposed to be replaced by $250 million of airport investment.
While it makes a good story for media malcontents its the poor Saints i feel sorry for with much of their future plans now in dissarray