Smoke over water

摘要

Pope Benedict XVI's announcement of his resignation in February 2012 was arguably the most surprising news story of the year so far, and it dominated the news cycle for several days. The blanket coverage of this momentous papal decision benefltted the shipping industry to a degree, as coverage of the Thompson Majesty lifeboat tragedy and the Carnival Triumph engine room fire was consequently relegated to the lower regions of global news sites for several days (although the latter story returned to haunt the cruise sector later).