Archived press release

D day for ghost ships

10 September 2003

Friends of the Earth has warned Hartlepool Borough Council that it is legally obliged to insist on a full and comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before allowing a controversial fleet of toxic "ghost ships" to be dismantled and disposed of on Teeside. A number of organisations and private individuals are considering legal action if the project is allowed to go-ahead without a full environmental impact assessment. Officials from Hartlepool District Council are expected to make a decision on this issue tomorrow (Thursday).

British company Able (UK) wants to bring a fleet of dilapidated US ships, heavily polluted with asbestos, oil and PCBs, to Teeside for scrapping and disposal. But the plan has provoked a storm of protest on both sides of the Atlantic. Many fear that allowing the ships to embark on a 4,500 mile journey may lead to an environmental disaster, and they should be disposed of in the US and not Teeside.

Hartlepool District Council was due to decide on Tuesday whether or not to call for an EIA before granting planning permission for a dry dock to be built so that the ships could be dismantled. English Nature, the Government's official advisor and a statutory consultee, insists that an EIA is needed (A copy of English Nature's letter to the council is available from Friends of the Earth.)

The decision was delayed (until Thursday), and it is believed that the council is now considering whether it should call for an EIA for the entire project - including the towing, storing and scrapping of the ships - after Friends of the Earth's legal advisor wrote to the local authority informing it that it is legally obliged to do so.

Public interest lawyers are acting for a number of local residents who may be affected by this project and are exploring a number of legal avenues to try and stop it.

And in the United States, the Sierra Club and the Basel Action Network (an activist group working to halt international toxic waste trade), have indicated their intent to seek judicial relief in order to prevent the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) from endangering the environment by permitting the towing the "ghost fleet" in the James River in Virginia, and across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom [1].

Friends of the Earth's campaigns director Mike Childs said:

"It's D Day for Teeside and toxic ghost fleet. Hartlepool District Council must insist on a full Environmental Impact Assessment on the entire project including the towing, storing and scrapping of these ships. If it doesn't it will be failing in its duty to protect the environment and people on Teeside and may face legal action.

"This toxic ghost fleet must not be sent to Teeside for disposal, and they must certainly not be allowed to leave the US until an operating destination has been agreed. The US must deal with its own hazardous boats and not risk an environmental disaster by sending them half way round the world for disposal."

Note

1. Basel Action Network : Website: www.ban.org

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust