Tyne to scrap ships

If they are granted planning permission, bosses at A&P Tyne at Hebburn hope to win contracts to dismantle ex-Royal Navy vessels. They claim the move into the ship breaking business would safeguard the yard’s future and create new jobs.

The ship repairing company has submitted a waste management licence application to the Environment Agency and lodged a planning application with South Tyneside Council. If the scheme is approved, the yard could start recycling ships by next autumn. While admitting the plans could spark nervousness among residents in neighbouring Hebburn Village, A&P managing director Fred Newman said all dismantling operations, including disposal of contaminated materials, would meet stringent safety standards. He said: “We believe there is a market opportunity out there for dismantling ships, and that’s why we have made these applications. If successful, this would be a nice little add-on to our main ship repair and conversion work.”

Swan Hunter in Wallsend secured a licence for ship breaking before the yard was mothballed this summer, but the ongoing row over the so-called ?ghost ships? at Hartlepool has fuelled fears about the health and environmental aspects of the ship-breaking business.

A&P Tyne, based in Wagonway Road, Hebburn, has enjoyed boom times recently, employing up to 2,000 workers this summer on a series of contracts and the company claims it would be even stronger if it diversified and had ship scrapping contracts to see it through lean times. Newman said: “A successful ship dismantling operation would safeguard the future of the yard and our core workforce of some 250 men.”The dismantling side of things would be part of A&P Tyne’s total service ? a good fall-back when there are gaps in our orders. But it’s not make-or-break, simply another way of securing the yard’s future.