A COURT hearing to determine the fate of the nine former US navy ships destined to be scrapped in the North-East been delayed.

The hold-up means there is no virtually no chance of the so-called ghost ships being towed across the Atlantic to the Teesside breakers' yard this year.

A federal judge this week postponed the hearing on a lawsuit which challenges the US Government's authority to export the obsolete vessels. The hearing, originally planned for August 6, has been rescheduled for October 1.

Environmental activists in the US sued the Maritime Administration last year claiming the effort to send 13 ships from the fleet - which contain asbestos and PCB chemicals - violated laws banning the export of hazardous waste.

The laws were introduced by former president Bill Clinton but repealed by his successor George W Bush.

US District Judge Rosemary M Collyer allowed the first four ships to leave the James River in Virginia last year, but issued a temporary restraining order blocking the rest from sailing until a further review by the court.

Work on the four ships already at the Able UK yard on the outskirts of Hartlepool cannot begin until the company has secured planning permission and relevant licences.

Campaigners claim the ships can be scrapped in America more safely. They fear bad weather in the Atlantic may sink one of the vessels leading to an environmental disaster.

Bosses last night said the latest delays would not affect their £11m contract as they did not plan to carry out work on them until next year. But environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth said the hold-up could prove to be significant.

The group's political co-ordinator Mike Childs said: "With elections coming up in the US this year and possibly in the UK next year, it will be interesting to see what the Governments' policies will be.

"We will be watching November's presidential elections with interest to see if that changes policy at all.

"In the run-up to the UK elections, the Government will not want the ghost ships arriving and the media outcry that will come with it."