Fury as Toxic Ships to be Dismantled in UK
by James Reynolds, Environment Correspondent, The Scotsman
4 October 2003 – Environment campaigners last night vowed to block a fleet of toxic "ghost ships" from being dismantled in Britain after a judge in the United States gave the go-ahead for the vessels to be towed across the Atlantic.
The plans have caused controversy in both countries, with a legal challenge filed in the US to try to stop the rusting navy ships being towed out of Virginia. The 13 ships, all aged between 40 and 50 years, are contaminated with chemicals such as PCBs, asbestos and heavy diesel.
A Liberal Democrat MP has condemned the government for letting Britain become a dumping ground for "clapped out environmentally dangerous" ships.
Campaigners fear one or more of the vessels could break up during the 4,000- mile crossing.
A judge in Washington ruled on Thursday night that four ships could be allowed to leave, with another court hearing due to be held on 20 October to decide the fate of the other nine ships.
Able UK, which will dismantle the ships in Hartlepool, Teesside, has maintained there will be no environmental problems.
Phil Michaels, of Friends of the Earth, said: "We are exploring all of our legal options.
"We are particularly concerned with the decision by the Environment Agency to modify Able?s waste licence [increasing it from 24,500 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes] in the way it has done and to specifically include ships.
"There is not yet in place all the permission that Able needs to build a dry dock. Unless they can build that, we can?t see how they can possibly take these ships apart in a way that even pretends to be environmentally friendly."
Norman Baker, the Lib Dem?s environment spokesman, said the court?s decision to only allow four of the 13 ships to leave showed the level of concern.
"That demonstrates that those of us who were concerned that the ships were unsafe have been justified in our approach," he said. "It shows that the British government is prepared to do nothing and abdicate environmental responsibility.
"They should, at an early stage, have made it clear to the American authorities instead of facilitating Britain?s role as a repository for clapped-out, environmentally dangerous ships and rolling over for the Americans."
Hartlepool Council confirmed that while general permission to dismantle the ships had been granted, the finer details had not been confirmed.
The contract is worth £16 million to Able UK and will create about 200 jobs.
A spokesman for the council said: "We have confirmed to Able UK that it does have planning permission for the dismantling and refurbishment of ships at its Graythorp site.
"However, with regard to any physical work at the Graythorp site to create a dry dock, such as the construction of a bund or dam, we continue to review the scope and validity of previous planning permissions granted for the Graythorp site."
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