French carrier joins Ghost Ships in Hartlepool

Feb 3 2009 By Matt McKenzie

A former French aircraft carrier is on its way to join the ranks of so called ``ghost ships" gathered on the banks of the river Tees.

The vessel, formerly known as the aircraft carrier Clemenceau, has begun its journey from Brest in France, to be broken up and recycled at Graythorp in Teesside.

It will join seven other decommissioned vessels that crossed the Atlantic and are waiting to be recycled on site at the Teesside Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC) owned by ship recycling company Able UK.

The Teesside company won a contract, reported to be worth up to 4 million euros (£3.5 million), to scrap the vessel, and said it would bring jobs and prosperity to the North East.

The firm had to apply for an exemption from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) so the ship can be dismantled and recycled.

The warship, which is arriving from Europe, contains about 700 tonnes of contaminated materials, including asbestos, which is illegal to import into the UK.

The growing fleet of ``ghost ships" at Hartlepool has caused controversy with environmentalists, who fear the asbestos onboard will harm the environment and damage the health of workers charged with dismantling the vessel.

The 32,780 tonne vessel, measuring 225m long and 65m high, will become the largest ship to be recycled in Europe.

Able UK said scrapping the aircraft carrier in the UK would bring over 200 jobs to Teesside when work starts on the ship shortly after Easter.

Chief executive Peter Stephenson said it was ``crucially important" for the work to go ahead.

``At a time when there are so many economic problems facing the world - and especially a region such as the North East of England - I think it is crucially important that we are in a position to be at the forefront of an industry which has enormous potential for growth and job creation in the years ahead," he said.

``We are confident that, having received the Q790, there are tremendous opportunities to attract further work to TERRC - not just in ship and marine recycling, but other developing sectors in the environmental field, such as wind and wave power technology."

Nicknamed ``Le Clem", the carrier was launched in 1957, and became the mainstay of the French naval fleet.

It sailed over a million nautical miles before being withdrawn from active service in 1997.

Able UK had to wait four days before they started work to bring the massive warship to Britain.

It will be dragged across the North Sea by a giant tug boat, and is expected to arrive in Hartlepool within four days.

Mr Stephenson said: ``Although preparations for the transfer have been in place for some time, we have had to wait for the right ’window’ in the weather to undertake the tow from Brest.

``Once the vessel has been delivered we will complete the coffer dam which will allow us to drain the dock and undertake the recycling work in the controlled dry dock conditions."

Greenpeace said it had no plans to oppose the aircraft carrier being taken to the North East to be scrapped.

Campaigns director Mike Childs said Able UK had ``gone through all the right procedures and all the right environmental safeguards have been put in place".

``We recognise that it is not practical for every country to have its own ship scrapping facilities," he said.

Mr Childs said recycling the metal of the Clemenceau was a positive step, and would help to cut down on damaging mining activity.

He also said breaking down the vessel in Europe was a better option than using ports in India or China, where environmental regulations might not be as rigorous.

``It has got to be scrapped somewhere, and it is good that European ships are being scrapped within Europe," he said.

But local groups remained opposed to the fleet of so-called Ghost Ships being broken up in Teesside.

Iris Ryder, a member of the organisation Friends of Hartlepool and a candidate for the Green Party in Europe, said the Clemenceau was a ``floating time bomb".

``It has got toxins in it that will be deposited forever," she said.

``A lot of people do not want Hartlepool turned into a toxic dumping ground for the rest of the world."