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Court allows first 'ghost fleet' ships to leave us
3 October 2003
A US court today refused to grant an emergency application preventing the first two ships from the ``ghost fleet'' of ageing, toxic-contaminated US ships sailing to the UK.
The judge at the Federal District Court for the district of Columbia refused to grant a temporary restraining order preventing four of the thirteen ships from leaving the US, including the first two ships which could sail for the UK within days. The judge did agree a temporary restraining order for nine ships until 20 October, when there will be another court hearing.
The US court case was brought by Earthjustice on behalf of the Sierra Club and Basle Action Network (BAN) [1] who argued that the export of the ships would violate a number of US laws, including the Toxic Substances Control Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
British company Able (UK) wants to bring a fleet of dilapidated US ships, heavily polluted with asbestos, oil and PCBs, to Teesside for scrapping and disposal. But the plan has provoked a storm of protest on both sides of the Atlantic. There are fear that allowing the ships to embark on a 4,500 mile journey may lead to an environmental disaster, and the boats should be disposed of in the US and not on Teesside.
Friends of the Earth's Legal Adviser Phil Michaels said:
"We are disappointed that an injunction preventing the departure of the first two ships from this toxic ghost fleet has not been granted. But the fight to stop these heavily polluted ships coming to Britain is far from over. There are still many issues to be resolved in the UK. These ships must be properly disposed of, but this should be carried out safely in the USA, and not by sending them on a hazardous journey across the Atlantic to Teesside."
Notes
[1] www.ban.org/
The Friends of the Earth supported Teesside group IMPACT is part of the international BAN Network
www.impact-teesside.org
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
