Govt 'vindicated' as toxic ships to return to US

The decision by the British government to send two contaminated former US Navy "toxic ships" back to America vindicates the stance taken by the Irish Government, the Minister for the Marine, Mr Ahern said tonight.

The ships will winter at Hartlepool before being returned to the US, the British government confirmed tonight.

Mr Ahern, said: "I have said it was absolute folly to transport vessels of such vintage and containing such potentially hazardous materials across the Atlantic for scrapping. That common sense message appears to have been accepted by the British Government."

"Our efforts to highlight this has not been in vain. We have not alone brought out concerns to the US and UK authorities but also invoked the EU. My meeting yesterday morning with EU Commissioner Loyola de Palacio was most useful."

"However, I intend to pursue the matter further to ensure that no further vessels cross the Atlantic. I intend to meet with the British Ambassador this week in Dublin to once again state out ongoing concerns," he said.

The rusting ships, the Canisteoand the Caloosahatchee, passed within 200 miles of the Irish coast this evening. They began their journey from the James river in Virginia on October 7th.

The ships were supposed to be dismantled at Hartlepool but the Environment Agency ruled last week that a waste licence granted to the ship disposal company, Able Uk, was invalid.

The British Environment Secretary, Ms Margaret Beckett, said: "The government agrees that the law requires the ships to be returned to the United States."

However, the government agreed that it was not practical to tow the ships 4,000 miles across the Atlantic during winter seas, she added. As a result the ships will winter at Hartlepool port before returning across the Atlantic in the spring.

It is not clear what will happen to a second convoy of ships some two weeks behind the first convoy.

The initial convoy of four is part of a fleet of 142 ships the US Maritime Administration wants to scrap for environmental reasons. Under a $14.8 million contract with Able UK, 14 of the ships would be scrapped in Britain.

The vessels contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos and heavy diesel.