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Ghost ships get green light
WORK to scrap the Ghost Ships will create an immediate 170 full time jobs in the town.
Able Uk has secured the last licence needed to start ship recycling at Graythorp, and work is expected to start within three to four weeks.
The waste management licence, granted by the Environment Agency, allows Able UK to recycle redundant vessels at its Teesside Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC) site.
Able UK already has planning permission to extend the current use of the Graythorp site to include the construction, repair, refurbishment and decommissioning of all types of ships, vessels and marine structures.
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The new waste management licence authorises the keeping, treating, or disposal of controlled waste and it will allow the company the dismantle ships and marine structures including oil rigs.
Able UK currently has four ships from the American National Defence Reserve Fleet and three UK ships at the facility waiting to be dismantled.
The US ships are the Canopus, Compass Island, Caloosahatchee and Canisteo. Able UK bosses are confident the site will now become a "world-leader in ship reclamation" as the site meets both the UK Government and European demand for such a facility.
Able UK chairman Peter Stephenson said the company can start work within weeks on the vessels berthed at TERRC.
Mr Stephenson said: "This common sense decision marks the culmination of almost five years of hard, and at times frustrating, effort.
"I'm thankful, because it means that, within a matter of weeks, we can start work creating jobs and expanding the local skills base in the process.
"While we are pleased that we can finally get started on dismantling these vessels, we have always emphasised that reclamation work is just a fraction of the work TERRC will provide."
Able UK has pumped more than 30m worth of investment into the site, including a new 936ft long deep water quay and cofferdam, expected to be completed later this year.
Meanwhile, Able UK has also been granted permission by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to import the French ship Q790, formerly the Clemenceau.
The ship contains 700 tonnes of asbestos.
A HSE spokesman said: "HSE has imposed strict conditions governing the removal of asbestos from the vessel."
The exemption would not have come into force until the company had been granted a waste management licence but today's announcement means work can start on site.
Able UK had to apply for the exemption because of regulations prohibiting companies importing asbestos into the UK.
The certificate can be revoked at any time by the HSE.
The HSE are also required to satisfy itself that the granting of an exemption will not prejudice the health or safety of people who work on site.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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