The talks coincide with two separate High Court actions designed to raise questions on the £11m dismantling deal.

The ships are retired US Navy vessels heading for Able UK's Graythorp recycling yard and now just days from UK coastal waters.

Plans to bring the ships to Hartlepool are being fought by councillors, local residents and green groups.

Early last month the EA gave formal permission for the deal to go ahead when it granted a modified waste licence.

But last week, after Friends of the Earth started a legal challenge to the EA's permission, the Agency withdrew its approval saying not all the consents needed were in place.

Since then the four ships have continued their cross-Atlantic voyage and top level talks between Able UK, the US Government department involved in disposing of the ships and the EA have been under way.

"We want MARAD and Able UK to look at their options," said an EA spokeswoman.

Able UK managing director Peter Stephenson said: "As the United States Marine Administration has underlined, we are all working to find a satisfactory solution and the vessels are continuing their journey."

Green groups are opposed to the ships being brought to Hartlepool and say the Americans should handle waste on board themselves.

At the High Court today Friends of the Earth will ask for the waste licence, granted to Able UK last month and withdrawn on Friday, to be formally quashed.

In a separate action, brought by Teesside resident, also due in the High Court today, the EA will be challenged as to why it did not consider the proximity principle - under which waste is dealt with as close to its source as possible - when issuing the original waste licence.

Protester Ben Morley said: "We're quite hopeful the court will be on our side, because in the last few days all the Government agencies seem to have fallen into line behind our position.

"We're as lost and confused as anyone else, as the information on this seems to change minute by minute."