§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the status of the ghost ships in Hartlepool. [145249]
§ Mr. MorleyFour decommissioned US government-owned vessels are currently being stored by Able UK at Hartlepool. The vessels have been surveyed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to assess the integrity of the vessels' structures and safety systems following their passage across the Atlantic, and were confirmed to be in satisfactory condition. The US authorities accept that the four ships will have to return to the US, unless environmentally suitable and legally acceptable methods for their disposal have been identified. The immediate return of the vessels is not practicable. In the meantime the Environment Agency has modified the conditions of Abie's waste management licence so that no dismantling, cutting or breaking of the vessels is permitted, pending the best environmental option for dealing with them.