A LEADING figure with the US maritime agency which sent the Ghost Ships to be scrapped in the North-East has defended the controversial move.

Captain William G Schubert criticised reports suggesting the obsolete naval vessels were not fit to cross the Atlantic and insisted: "We took our responsibility seriously."

Capt Schubert, of the US Maritime Administration (Marad), accepted the first four ships from the James River Reserve Fleet, in Virginia, would not have sailed if the agency had known of licence complications.

But he blamed the Government agencies in the UK for the mix-up which did not surface until the leading two vessels were half-way to Teesside in October.

Meanwhile, the boss of the recycling firm involved hit out at opponents who tried to block the £11m deal with a series of court challenges by claiming the ships contained a cocktail of toxic waste.

Able UK managing director Peter Stephenson said six of the 13 vessels his company has agreed to recycle would already be docked at Graythorp, near Hartlepool, had environmentalists not gone to court.

Four had already set sail and opposition was mounting when the Environment Ag-ency performed a U-turn and declared a waste management licence it granted to Able was invalid - and it later emerged the planning consents did not cover the recycling of ships.

The move prevented two more ships setting sail before bad weather made further Trans-Atlantic movements impossible.

Able is now preparing two fresh planning bids and a new waste management licence application, and Mr Stephenson hopes work can begin within six months.

He said: "Had it not been for the activities of some environmental groups, we would now have recycled six vessels, providing much-needed employment for the local economy and much-needed scrap steel for the European market.

"I believe that the organisations which claim to be interested in the environment should recognise that the US Government is leading the way in ensuring that their redundant vessels are recycled in the best possible, practicable environmental manner."

Capt Schubert added: "Despite the current situation, Marad remains committed to responsible ship disposal solutions involving partners in the United States and abroad.

"Prior to the ships' departure in October, the Maritime Administration received official approvals from the UK's Environment Agency, Mari-time Coastguard Agency, and the US Environmental Protection Agency and Coastguard.

"The UK Environment Agency's late-October decision to declare its own permit invalid mid-voyage was an unexpected occurrence."