The first four vessels in a toxic "ghost fleet" of former US Navy ships were today free to leave US waters bound for Britain following a court ruling.
A judge in Washington last night said the four ships could sail to Teesside for scrapping, after rejecting, in part, a restraining application filed by environmentalists.
Mr Marcello Mollo, a lawyer at the environmental legal firm Earthjustice, said he believed the ships could be on their way to Teesside this morning.
The ships will be rendered at the Able UK yard in Hartlepool, but green groups claim the obsolete vessels could break up during the crossing, creating an environmental catastrophe.
They are between 40 and 50 years old and contaminated with chemicals including PCBs, asbestos and heavy diesel.
A further nine ships, which are also contaminated with chemicals, must be held at their dock in Virginia, pending a further court hearing on October 20th, the ruling stated.
Mr Mollo said "there was a likelihood that plaintiffs would succeed on their claim that the US government had not adequately assessed the environmental risks involved with the other nine".
Friends of the Earth legal adviser Mr Phil Michaels said: "We are disappointed that an injunction preventing the departure of the first ships from this toxic ghost fleet has not been granted."
PA