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ABLE WELCOMES ‘VINDICATION’ IN MPS’ SHIP DISMANTLING REPORT

A high-powered report from MPs calling for the Government to support the development of a thriving UK ship dismantling industry has been welcomed as ‘a very positive vindication of the arguments we have been putting forward’ by the Chief Executive of Able UK.

Mr Peter Stephenson was speaking following the publication of the report from the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, into the dismantling of defunct ships in the UK. Their inquiry was sparked by the debate over Able’s contract for the dismantling of a number of redundant vessels from the US Reserve Fleet.

In their report the MPs argue strongly that there is a need for the UK Government and other national and international organisation to take urgent action to end the dismantling of vessels in ‘wholly inadequate’ conditions in a number of developing countries—and they argue that this country has ‘the potential to establish an industry in ship dismantling which can be done safely and offer economic benefits to the communities in which it is carried out.’

Said Peter Stephenson “That key message from the MPs sums up exactly the argument we have consistently put forward in arguing the benefits of the facility that we have developed at TERRC (Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre)—both in terms of ensuring that ships are dismantled in the safest conditions and under the best possible environmental conditions… providing valuable business and jobs for Hartlepool and the wider North East and also providing the Best Practicable Environmental Option.

“What is striking in the report is that it gives no credence whatsoever to the scaremongering tactics adopted by Friends of the Earth and others in their efforts to prevent any ship recycling activities at our TERRC facility.

“There are many positive aspects to the report—including their clear messages that health , safety and environmental protection must be the ‘most important consideration’ in deciding where a ship should be dismantled and that the Government should give a lead by ensuring that all Royal Navy and other state-owned vessels should be dismantled at UK facilities.

“Like the Committee we very much welcome the Government’s commitment to produce a ship recycling strategy and support their call for urgent action to eradicate the appalling practices where ships are literally rammed onto the beaches of developing countries and torn apart with no thought for the health of the workers or the consequences for the world environment.

“I think it is important to underline that Greenpeace, which has consistently campaigned on this issue, has recognised that our facilities do meet the highest possible standards—and in fact made that clear when we were bidding for the dismantling of the Brent Spar oil platform. This has been demonstrated for over a decade whilst we have been successfully decommissioning marine structures and when we had to meet the very high environmental requirements of the American authorities when we were prequalifying for work with MARAD (the American Maritime Administration)—and in fact we also meet all further requirements that have been introduced by international bodies since we were qualified for the contract.

“There are however some factual points raised in the report which do require clarification. It refers to the fact that there was ‘little interest’ from UK yards in bidding for the dismantling of HMS Intrepid. For the record, we have bid for that work on two occasions.

“The report also suggests that there may some doubt about whether our facility could handle the largest tankers. Again the facts are that we have carried out studies which show conclusively that TERRC is able to handle the largest ships.

“What is absolutely clear from this report is that those who have pedalled distortions and scare stories about our company, the standards of our facilities and the work we are seeking to bring to our region, now stand totally discredited. I hope that from now on we can move forward on the basis of facts rather than fiction—and a recognition that companies and work forces such as ours should be supported in our efforts to meet an urgent and important environmental challenge.”

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