British firm loses contract to dismantle nine US 'ghost ships'
by John Vidal (Environment Editor), Guardian Unlimited (UK)
31 May 2007 – A contract to tow nine dilapidated US navy reserve ships 3,500 miles across the Atlantic to be broken up on the river Tees in Hartlepool has been cancelled, to the dismay of the company that won the contract but the delight of many people in the town.
Able UK won the £11m contract to dismantle 13 "ghost ships" in 2003 and the first four were delivered by Dutch tug to the Graythorp yard in Hartlepool in November that year. However, they have been laid up following protracted legal and environmental negotiations about how they would be dismantled and the potential damage that could be caused.
The way was finally cleared last year for the four ships to be dismantled, but the local authority has not yet given its approval.
Peter Stephenson, the chairman of Able UK, said yesterday: "We are pleased that we have been able to agree with the US department of transportation maritime administration that our contract for the recycling of the four vessels continues. It is disappointing that the opportunity to bring the additional work which would have been generated through the other nine vessels has been lost due to the delay."
It is understood the contract was cancelled after concerns about the condition of the nine ships, moored in the James river, Virginia, and the long delay in getting permissions in the UK. The US government has been under union pressure to keep the work in US shipyards.
Able UK also said it had lost the chance to dismantle a British naval vessel because of the delays over planning permission. "The delay resulting from the decisions of Hartlepool council's planning committee means we lost the opportunity to recycle HMS Intrepid," Mr Stephenson said.
"We believe that it is of benefit to Hartlepool, the wider Teesside area - and indeed the whole of the UK - that we do not miss out on the opportunity to establish our area as a centre of excellence for both marine recycling technology and the development of windpower electric generation."
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