British Court Blocks Dismantling Vessels
by Michael McDononough, Associated Press Writer
5 November 2003 (London - AP) – Britain's high court has blocked a British company from dismantling a fleet of old, rusty U.S. Navy vessels until judges hear legal challenges filed by environmental groups.
The groups have campaigned against the arrival of the 13 "ghost fleet'' ships, which contain toxins including asbestos, PCBs and more than 500,000 gallons of oil.
British officials last week withdrew permission for the vessels to be dismantled in England because the company contracted to carry out the work did not have authority to use dry docks. But the company, Able UK Ltd., said it could resolve the problem by the time the first four ships reach Britain.
Justice Maurice Kay set a hearing for Dec. 8. Until then, he ruled, the ships could dock but no work should take place ``except for measures to make and keep them safe.''
The environmental group Friends of the Earth said two ships being towed across the Atlantic - auxiliary oil tankers the Caloosahatchee and the Canisteo - were due to reach waters off southwest England on Thursday.
It said two others, navigation instrument ship the Compass Island and submarine tender the Canopus, were a week behind.
The first two ships left Virginia on Oct. 6 and the second two left Oct. 17.
Local council members in Hartlepool, their destination in northeast England, voted unanimously Tuesday to ask Transport Secretary Alistair Darling to use his powers to reroute the ships.
The vessels are among nearly 100 ships, many more than 50 years old, anchored in Virginia as part of the U.S. Navy's Reserve Fleet. Nearly 70 are considered obsolete and ready to be scrapped.
The Canisteo and Caloosahatchee each contain 34.1 tons of ``non-liquid'' PCBs - polychlorinated biphenyls - which were used as electrical insulators but are suspected of causing cancer - and 61 tons of asbestos, Friends of the Earth said.
It added that the Compass Island contains 47.3 tons of non-liquid PCBs and 252 tons of asbestos, while the Canopus contains 286 tons of non-liquid PCBs and 252 tons of asbestos.
The 644-foot Canopus, built in 1965, serviced ballistic missile submarines during its 29 years of active service. The 563-foot Compass Island, built in 1953, was involved in developing navigation systems.
The 553-foot Canisteo had a crew of approximately 211 men and 13 officers. It could carry more than 4 million gallons of fuel oil, 715,000 gallons of jet fuel and 300,000 gallons of aviation gasoline. It also carried mail to other vessels.
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