Archived press release

Ghost fleet injuncted

6 November 2003

A High Court judge today granted an injunction against Able UK carrying out any dismantling work on ships from the US toxic ghost fleet until crucial legal challenges are heard in early December. Permission for the ships to enter UK ports still remains invalid, and the Environment Agency, Friends of the Earth and Hartlepool council have all called for them to be returned to the USA.

Friends of the Earth went to the High Court in London today to ask the judge to quash a modification to a waste management licence granted by the Environment Agency to Able UK in September. The Environment Agency agreed to Friends of the Earth's application as it now believes the modification is invalid, however it was contested by lawyers for Able UK. The case will now be heard in the week commencing the 8 December. A further legal challenge by three local residents to Able's plans will now be heard on 16 and 17 December.

The modification of the licence allowed Able UK to increase the amount of waste it could deal with on Teesside, and the company planned to use this to allow it to dispose of the boats from the toxic ghost fleet. But in an extraordinary twist, it was revealed in court that the waste management licence does not cover ships.

E:mail correspondence from the Environment Agency to Able UK, sent on Sunday the 2 November and obtained by Friends of the Earth, not only makes it clear that the modification to the licence cannot stand, but that the original waste licence does not cover the disposal of ships. The Agency told Able:

"The maximum quantity of waste which may be received at the site is 24,500 tonnes per annum and the WML does not permit the dismantling of ships."

Friends of the Earth is urgently exploring legal avenues to force the Government to send these boats back.

Friends of the Earth's director, Tony Juniper, said:

"We are pleased that the High Court has prevented Able UK from carrying out any work on these boats until our case is heard. In the meantime, the Environment Agency, having now confirmed the company's waste management licence does not even cover ships, must secure their immediate return to the States. If the UK Government and its agencies don't do this, then, these toxic time bombs could be sitting off our coast within days, threatening our environment indefinitely.

Phil Shiner, the lawyer representing the three local residents, said

"We're please to have got our order preventing Able doing any work in the ships. The judge didn't accept the figures for financial damage that Able put forward. We now need to make sure the ships go back."

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust