The risks involved in transporting and dismantling highly toxic United States Navy ships are too great to be accepted. The British Government should recognise the concerns of its own citizens and its EU partners and ban the proposed work at Hartlepool, in England.
The variety of ships, many of them 50 years old, contain large amounts of poisonous materials and they have to be moved by tugboats. The first two oil tankers, due to dock within days, should be ordered back to anchorage in Virginia. Work on dismantling the ships cannot begin until mid-December at the earliest, because of a British High Court injunction. And, because of their dilapidated state, their presence on the high seas poses a real threat to the marine environment.
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, has objected to the British government and the EU Transport Commissioner, Ms Loyola Palacio, over the development. And he has taken some precautionary measures.
Next year's Irish presidency of the EU will allow Mr Ahern to advocate legislation that would prevent European waters being used as a highway for toxic vessels that pose a serious threat to the coastlines of member states. The EU has already adopted regulations banning single-hulled oil tankers - modern versions of the kind now being transported - from its waters. But that measure will not take effect for some years.
Opposition within Britain has led its Environment Agency to withdraw a dismantling licence from the company, Able UK. A High Court hearing will be held next month to adjudicate on the matter.
Last night, the first two ships out of a consignment of 13, passed about 250 miles south of Ireland. Their passage was monitored by the Irish Coast Guard. But they were entitled to "innocent passage" on the high seas.
At the best of times their age and dilapidated state would make them a threat to the marine environment. But their transportation across 4,000 miles of ocean at a time of winter gales is simply outrageous.
Britain has an unenviable record where dirty industry is concerned. The reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods at Sellafield is a prime example. Is Hartlepool going to become a breakers' yard for the United States Navy and a dumping ground for the kind of toxic rubbish that cannot be disposed of cheaply in the US? The OSPAR Convention, of which Britain is a member, requires that the 15 signatory states take all possible steps to prevent and eliminate marine pollution. The British government should live up to its obligations.