Fifth 'Ghost Ship' sparks new storm

Northern Echo 10th June 2008 reported that the row over the so-called "Ghost Ships" is about to reignite after it was revealed another ship containing hundreds of tonnes of asbestos-contaminated material is on its way to the North-East.

Teesside company Able UK confirmed last night that it had a contract to dismantle a ship containing more asbestos-contaminated material than all four previous ships combined.

The row over the Ghost Ships - decommissioned US naval vessels - sparked an international row when they sailed across the Atlantic to be scrapped at Able's facilities in Hartlepool.

Critics said the US should not be exporting toxic materials, but supporters said Able was facing a classic "environment v economy" dilemma.

If Able's operations take off, the business could create hundreds of jobs. The company also has world-class facilities to carry out such a contract.

The Northern Echo can reveal that the Hartlepool firm has applied for an exemption from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) so the latest vessel can be dismantled and recycled.
Able needs permission because the ship, which is arriving from Europe, contains about 700 tonnes of contaminated materials and it is illegal to import asbestos to the UK.

Environmental group The Friends of Hartlepool attacked the move and said it had not been consulted.

The HSE has given the group an extra two weeks to comment on Able's application.
A spokesman for the Friends of Hartlepool said: "We have had major concerns over the consultation on this matter, having not been made aware of Able UK's application for an exemption."

The amount of asbestos-contaminated material contained in the unnamed ship dwarfs that contained in each of the first four of the 13 ships that made up Able's original £11m contract with the US maritime administration, Marad.

According to the Environment Agency, the four vessels, which have remained moored at Able's Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (Terrc), at Graythorp, near Hartlepool, since 2003, contain about 633 tonnes of asbestos contaminated material between them.

Able already has a similar exemption granted by the HSE to import asbestos, applying to the 13 former US Navy ships.

In a letter passed to The Northern Echo, Chris Gillies, principal inspector of health and safety for the HSE, states of the application: "Our intention is that any exemption granted would take effect only when Able UK had secured all necessary permissions and requirements from other regulatory agencies, in particular the Environment Agency."

In November, the company was fined £22,000 by magistrates after it failed to dispose of asbestos in the correct manner on two occasions at its Seaton Meadows landfill site in Hartlepool.
The firm blamed a bulldozer operator, working on behalf of one of its subcontractors, who had failed to follow instructions.

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