THE dangers posed by the ghost ships have never been proved beyond doubt.

Equally, the environmental safety of towing the ageing vessels across the Atlantic and dismantling them at Hartlepool was never certain.

Able UK will argue that the mere fact the Caloosahatchee and Canisteo have arrived intact on Teesside supports its assertions that the ships pose no danger.

But the fact is that persistent concerns mean work cannot begin on scrapping the ships.

Few of those involved in this sorry saga emerge with credit. They have conspired to create uncertainty and confusion which has played into the hands of those who have branded the contract an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen.

The British Government has led the way, with contradictory messages being sent out by different departments. Hartlepool Council has failed to take a decisive grip on the situation.

And Able UK has been at fault for not ensuring beyond any shadow of doubt that it had all relevant permissions in place to take delivery of the ships and begin work on them.

The biggest victim in all of this fiasco is the town of Hartlepool, which is to be congratulated for its strenuous efforts in recent years to transform itself into something of a tourist attraction.

Today, it finds itself at the centre of global attention. Not for its Historic Quay; but for two rusting hulks berthed nearby.

Our primary concern about the arrival of the ghost ships has always been about the signal the contract sends out to the rest of the world. At a time when so much effort is going into restoring the North-East coastline to its natural beauty after decades of industrial destruction, the last thing our region needs is a reputation as a dumping ground for other countries' unwanted rubbish.

We can understand yards like Able dismantling British ships. But we have never been given a satisfactory answer as to why the United States was unwilling on this occasion to do its own dirty work.