Green Light in US for 'Ghost Ships'
American coastguards have given the all-clear for the first two 'ghost ships' to head for Teesside to be recycled.
by Matthew Pardo, Evening Gazette
2 October 2003 – The Gazette has learned that in the last few days the US coastguard has issued the 'line certification' - vital paperwork allowing the ships to leave.
The departure now depends on a court case expected to be finished in America later today.
Green groups last week started legal action against the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the Environmental Protection Agency to stop the 'ghost ships' leaving their moorings in the James River in Virginia.
The vessels have been moored up for years and campaigners fear they have cancer linked PCBs, asbestos and heavy marine oil onboard.
Graythorp-based Able UK had won an £11m contract to scrap and recycle a total of 13 ships from the fleet.
But the move caused a storm of protest from green groups and last week The Basel Action Network and the Sierra Club started legal action to stop the ships.
Lawyers acting for MARAD said independent towing experts had concluded the towing plan was safe and that a delay could jeopardise the deal as Able UK may not be prepared to wait.
The judge grilled the legal experts about a UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) inspection of the ships and was reassured by MARAD's lawyers that any repair work ordered by the MCA to be done would be carried out before the ships left.
The Gazette reported yesterday how the ship scrapping plan had been cleared by pollution regulator the Environment Agency.
The Agency said a thorough assessment concluded 'that the operator's plans will not have a significant effect on the Tees Mouth and Cleveland Coast Special Protection Area'.
Today Friends of the Earth spokeswoman Elaine Gilligan said: "The Environment Agency appears to have caved in to pressure from Able UK and the US authorities. The assessment it has produced is rushed, sloppy and inadequate. But this is not the end of the matter. There are still significant issues to be decided before this unsafe and dangerous fleet can be dumped on British shores."
Hartlepool Council has confirmed the company has planning permission to scrap and recycle the ships at Graythorp.
But a spokesman said: "With regard to any physical work at the Graythorp site to create a dry dock we continue to review the scope and validity of previous planning permissions granted for the Graythorp site, and this involves us seeking further evidence and taking further legal advice.
"As such, the planning position remains uncertain."
Durham County Council's cabinet will also debate the issue today when it hears an update on the 'ghost fleet' situation from officers and Environment Agency experts.
For an archive of stories on this subject click on to: icTeesside.co.uk/ghostships
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