Hartlepool councillors have called for Transport Secretary Alistair Darling to send the so-called 'ghost fleet' - contaminated with chemicals including asbestos and heavy diesel - back to the US.

But a transport department spokesman the Transport Department only had jurisdiction to assess if the ships were seaworthy.

An agency spokesman said it could only act if there was a "grave or imminent safety threat or pollution threat to the UK coastline".

As this was not the case the ships were safe to travel to the UK.

Four of the 13 vessels are being towed on a 4,000-mile journey across the Atlantic, although the Environment Agency has refused permission to import them on planning and environmental grounds.

The transport department spokesman said the ships, which are not yet in British waters, were "under tow and under control".

Last week the EA withdrew its approval, citing planning and environmental concerns over the docking facilities available.

Last month the US sent the first ships out despite EA advice they should stay docked until the doubts were resolved.

At an emergency meeting on Tuesday, Hartlepool councillors unanimously voted for a motion calling for Mr Darling to use his powers as secretary of state to send the ships back.

The council believes that while contractor Able UK can dismantle the ships, it lacks the necessary planning permission to construct a dry dock for the operation. The company disputes this.

Permission 'lapsed'

Frank Rodgers, a local councillor, explained the local authority's concern.

"If the people can't dock them properly here, you are going to have old ships tied up possibly in either the Tees estuary or in Hartlepool and Tees bay, at the mercy of the elements," he told the BBC.

"That strikes us as a bit silly."

Planning consent was granted to Able UK in 1997, but the council says this lapses if not used within five years, and must be applied for again.

Four vessels have already set off from their moorings on the James River, Virginia, and are due to arrive in Hartlepool by mid-November.

On Monday, the government promised to re-examine the circumstances surrounding the original deal between US authorities and Able UK.

Environment Minister Elliot Morley promised a "full evaluation" of the issues.

He said the EA originally gave consent as it had been satisfied Able UK had the "technical and physical ability to deal with the ships in an environmentally sound manner".

Ships seaworthy

The council claim planning consent was lacking only emerged later, he said.

He added that the vessels currently en route to the UK had been verified as seaworthy and contained "relatively small quantities of hazardous substances, common to all ships of this age".

The remaining nine ships in the contract would stay in the US.

Conservatives have called for an urgent inquiry into the "muddle and confusion" surrounding the plan.

Shadow Environment Secretary David Lidington said: "Mr Darling's decision completely contradicts what Defra and the Environment Agency have been telling us.

"One part of government says the ghost ships must return to the US. Another part of the same government refuses to support these demands."

Friends of the Earth director, Tony Juniper, said on Monday the government should make clear it was not prepared to take the vessels.

"The most sensible option is for these boats to turn round and be safely disposed of in the USA which already has the capacity to deal with them," he said.