British Agency Withdraws Permission to Scrap Ghost Ships

LONDON, UK, October 31, 2003 (ENS) - Four obsolete U.S. naval ships now being towed across the Atlantic cannot be dismantled in England, the UK Environment Agency has ruled, citing environmental concerns. The agency Thursday invalidated two authorizations issued in September to Able UK, a company that specializes in the demolition of ships.

The so-called ghost ships from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia were to be scrapped for recovery of useable materials at the Able shipyard at Hartlepool, Teesside in northeastern England. They are contaminated with toxics including asbestos, PCBs and more than 500,000 gallons of heavy oil.

Environmental groups have hailed the decision as a victory and are demanding that the ships be returned to the United States. But the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), which has jurisdiction over the ships, says they "will continue to transit the Atlantic," while the issues between the UK Environment Agency and Able UK are being resolved.

Able officials are hopeful that they will be able to resolve the issues before the first ships arrive in mid-November. Should Able UK not decide to return the ships to the United States, their return can be required under European law, the UK Environment Agency said.

The four ghost ships en route to Teeside are currently under tow and are only carrying enough fuel to enable the bilge pumps to operate. These four ships were certified as being safe to be moved from the United States to England, and MARAD says no toxics have leaked into the sea.

The Canisteo is one of the first two ghost ships en route from James River to Teesside. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy)

The 13 ships together contain 698 tons of PCBs, 1,402 tons of asbestos and 3,300 tons of old fuel oils.

The UK Environment Agency granted authorization for import of the ghost ships September 30 on "an assumption that all relevant permissions could be in place for dry dock dismantling," the agency said. But the Hartlepool Borough Council has not granted planning permission for the construction of a dry dock, and currently Able has only a wet dock facility at Teesside.

A license modification to increase the amount of waste materials permitted on the Hartlepool site was also granted to Able on the same assumption, after the agency's assessment of environmental risk concluded that ship scrapping in dry dock "would not give rise to any significant effect."

But, the agency said, "It has become clear that several permissions and plans, including planning permission, are not in place and that dry dock working cannot be enforced."

Also, a license modification cannot be used to increase the amount of waste permitted on the Able site at Hartlepool, the agency's legal counsel has said. A new license would be required with new quantity limits in place.

The agency's area manager Craig McGarvey said, "The Environment Agency's priority is to make sure that the environment is protected and that all the legal requirements are complied with.

"If, in the future, all the environmental and planning requirements are met, there is no reason why dismantling and recovery of ships should not take place at the Able site," said McGarvey.

Aerial view of Able UK's Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (Photo courtesy Able UK)

Friends of the Earth Executive Director Tony Juniper, said, “We are delighted that the agency has realized it exists to protect the environment rather than help America get rid of its waste overseas.”

“The Environment Agency must now make it clear that the ships must not be allowed to enter UK waters and must send them back to the United States. This is a real victory for the environment and for local people on Teesside.”

In addition, Friends of the Earth is scheduled to appear at a Hartlepool Borough Council inquiry into the scrapping of the U.S. ships. The environmental lobby group is questioning why Teesside local people have not been consulted and are being forced to take American toxic waste that could be dealt with in the United States.

Three individuals from Teesside have started legal proceedings against the Hartlepool Borough Council and the UK government seeking an immediate injunction to prevent the ship scrapping on the basis that the Environment Agency did not take into account the proximity principle that requires waste to be treated where it arises.

Friends of the Earth is also asking why there has been no full assessment of the environmental damage dismantling the ships will have on Seal Sands - an internationally important waterbird and wildlife area, considered a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a formal designation by the British government.

American environmentalists are pleased with the decision. "We’ve said all along this export deal was illegal and a dangerous, reckless environmental precedent,” said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network (BAN), an environmental group based in Seattle, Washington.

“Governments on both sides of the Atlantic were not willing to face up to their responsibilities as custodians of the public trust until we shined a blinding spotlight on this misguided scheme and dragged them kicking and screaming into their respective courthouses," Puckett said.

Able UK had applied for a planning license to build a dry dock but, says Friends of the Earth, the company withdrew the application hours before a decision was to be made that an Environmental Impact Assessment was required.

Should Able decide to apply for and be granted planning permission to build the dry dock facility, the UK Environment Agency says the company will have to make it over other hurdles before any U.S. ghost ships can be scrapped.

In addition to an appropriate waste management license, two separate licenses are required from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for dredging and for building of a protective bund to create the proposed dry dock facility. A lease from the Crown Estate also will be required for the protective bund.

The retired U.S. Navy vessel Canopus, shown here moored in James River, Virginia, is now under tow en route to England. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy)

Prior to the ships’ departure, MARAD says, it sought and received official approvals from the UK Environment Agency, the UK Maritime Coastguard Agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard. Without these official approvals in hand, these ships would not have left their James River moorings.

MARAD implemented all towing safety recommendations required by the insurance carrier, the oceangoing tug company, and an independent marine surveyor prior to the voyage.

Should the four ships be forced back to the United States, environmentalists warn that winter weather conditions will make any such shipment hazardous. To minimize the risks favorable weather is a must, BAN's Puckett says, and each vessel should be towed separately, not in tandem, and be escorted by an emergency response vessel.

If favorable weather conditions will not occur until spring, Puckett asks that the vessels be held in a U.S. military port in Europe over the winter.

Under international agreements there is free trade in the movement of waste for recovery and recycling between countries, the UK Environment Agency explains. There are restrictions on the import and export of waste for disposal.

The legislation is "unclear on the status of ships as waste and the law covering activities at ports is particularly complex," the agency says, and has asked the British government to review all the relevant legislation and administrative procedures.

MARAD says it is committed to working with all its public and private sector partners in the United States and United Kingdom "to ensure the safe and responsible recycling of retired ships belonging to the James River Reserve Fleet."