THE remaining ships in a so-called toxic ghost fleet will almost certainly not be heading to the North-East this year, US officials said last night.

The news from the US Maritime Administration (Marad) could mean the saga of the ghost ships dragging well into next year before a conclusion is reached.

Four ships in the former US Navy fleet, said to contain potentially dangerous PCBs, lead and asbestos, are moored in Able UK's breakers yard in Hartlepool, awaiting permissions to be scrapped.

The remaining nine have been subject to legal wrangles in the US and remain on the James River, in Virginia.

Last night, Susan Clark, a Marad spokeswoman in Washington, was quoted as saying it was very unlikely the rusting hulks would leave the US this year.

She said it was still committed to the £11m contract it struck with Able despite the fact planning permission and relevant licences in the UK had yet to be granted for the work to go ahead.

A Federal Court hearing on August 6 will hear legal argument over the remaining ships, which are currently subject to an injunction won by US environmental groups Basel Action Network and Sierra Club.

But it was unclear yesterday when the court will deliver its decision and how long a relatively limited weather window - during which the vessels can be towed across the Atlantic - will last.

Opponents of the ghost ships were heartened by a decision last month by the US Environmental Protection Agency to bar a former Navy ship being towed from California to China for dismantling, because it contained PCBs.

Mike Childs, of Friends of the Earth, said: "If these ships do not set sail by mid-October they will not be able to come over here until spring next year at the earliest because the weather will not be good enough."

Recently, the British Government appeared to do a U-turn when Environment Minister Elliot Morley said the ships should be scrapped in Hartlepool.

Hartlepool Borough Council, which still has to give permission for a dry dock to be built for the ships to be dismantled, said it was still awaiting applications from Able for planning permission.

Peter Stephenson, managing director of Able UK, said it was clear that it was now not practicable to transfer vessels still in the US during what he called the summer weather window.