Ghost ships??? yard wins permission for scrap facility

Able UK has finally won planning permission to develop a controversial facility to dismantle and recycle unwanted ships at its yard near Seaton Carew, Teesside in the UK.

Peter Stephenson, the firm’s chief executive, said: ???Now we can at last start to establish the Tees Valley as world-class centre for the marine and renewable energy industries of the 21st century.??

Hartlepool Council this afternoon approved proposals to develop TERRC (Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre) facility at Seaton Port, Graythorpe, as the biggest dry dock in the world. Graythorpe hit the national headlines and sparked a debate over the scrapping of decommissioned ships when, as part of an ?£11m contract, four US vessels were towed there in 2003. Friends of the Earth had called on the council to delay making a decision on the four applications – all originally rejected by the council.

One of the applications is the subject of a planning inquiry, which is yet to report – after Able UK appealed the refusal in October last year.

Stephenson said that the permissions would open up huge opportunities to attract international contracts, together with many hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds of investment. The council’s planning committee approved the Able UK applications for the construction, repair, refurbishment and decommissioning of all types of ships, vessels and other craft, and for the manufacture of wind turbines.

The applications also covered a variety of other works including the construction and refurbishment of quays, the construction of a cofferdam and new dock gates, the installation of a railway track, construction and operation of metal recycling facilities and the erection of industrial and warehouse buildings. However, the company still needs to secure the relevant licences to carry out the dismantling work from the Environment Agency.