13 November 2003 (HARTLEPOOL, England) – A second condemned U.S. Navy vessel completed its ocean crossing Thursday to a dockyard in northeastern England, where a British company hopes to dismantle it over the objections of environmentalists.

The 58-year-old tanker Canisteo arrived at the Able U.K. Ltd. yard a day after the Caloosahatchee, another tanker. They and two other ships being towed across the Atlantic - are from the U.S. reserve fleet moored in the James River in Virginia.

A court order prevents Able U.K. from beginning dismantling work on the so-called "ghost fleet." The project has met with strong opposition from Hartlepool authorities, local residents and environmental groups. A judge will begin hearing legal challenges to the dismantling on Dec. 8.

The British government has granted permission for Canisteo and Caloosahatchee to dock in Hartlepool but Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said they should return to the United States when it was safe to do so.

The two other ships, the 1965-vintage submarine tender Canopus and the 50-year-old cargo ship Compass Island, are still being towed toward Britain, and are a few days from port. They have not been given permission to dock.

"We are encouraged by the decision to allow the first two ships to enter Hartlepool, their original destination, for safekeeping," said Capt. William G. Schubert of the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Environmentalists say the ships contain tons of pollutants including asbestos and PCBs - polychlorinated biphenyls, which were used as electrical insulators but are suspected of causing cancer.

Able U.K. has confirmed the vessels contain asbestos but says the level of banned PCBs is not significant.

Many locals in Hartlepool, a depressed former shipbuilding town at the mouth of the River Tees, say they are concerned about their health and have dismissed claims by Able U.K. that scrapping the ships will create jobs in the area.