Press Releases - ABLE

COMPANY SETS SPRING TARGET FOR START ON SHIPS CONTRACT
17/12/03

The Managing Director of Able UK today (December 17th) underlined the company’s ‘unswerving determination’ to carrying out the recycling of redundant US vessels at its Graythorp facility.

Speaking after today’s meeting of Hartlepool Planning Committee, Mr Peter Stephenson said that he was optimistic that they would be in a position to begin work next Spring on the four vessels currently moored at its facility.

He explained “Obviously the recent developments have had an impact on our planned programme of work. In the light of all the circumstances I expect that we will be in a position to begin work in April on construction of the ‘bund’ which will enable us to provide the dry dock facilities for the recycling of the vessels.

“Constructing the bund will take about three months and during that period, starting in May, we would expect to begin the ‘remediation’ phase of the work—in other words removing waste materials from the vessels—before starting the recycling operation in July.

“I am disappointed that today Hartlepool Council has again failed to recognise the overwhelming evidence we have presented to demonstrate that the planning permission for the construction of the bund still stands, but that does not affect our unswerving determination to move ahead with a contract which provides the best possible environmentally-friendly means of recycling redundant marine structures, as well as kick-starting the availability of the dry dock, creating a significant number of valuable jobs for local people and additional work for existing business in the area.”

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