THE remaining nine of the 13 toxic US ships due to be towed to Britain will not now sail before April at the earliest.

The Maritime Administration in America has agreed to do an environmental assessment on the risks of towing the contaminant-laden vessels to Britain.

To give that time, the federal court in Washington, DC, has adjourned a hearing forced by environmental groups - due to have been held today - until next April.

No more ships will be able to leave their moorings in Virginia until then.

The Friends of the Earth say they may be forced to take the Environment Agency to court over the issue.

Spokesman Mike Childs said: "It looks very likely over the next few days we will be filing papers to the High Court seeking a judicial review."

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said that if the issue did reach the High Court they would "robustly" defend their decision, saying they had carried out the appropriate assessments and were satisfied.

A spokesman for Able UK, which won the £11m contract to dismantle the ships, said last night the company had not planned to take more than four ships before winter set in this year anyway, and the adjournment of the US court hearing until next April would have no impact on the project.

Meanwhile, pressure was mounting at home and abroad last night for a public inquiry.

The Liberal Democrats called for an independent investigation at their Northern regional conference at the weekend.

The developments came on the eve of today's European Parliament discussions on the ships, led by EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, who has said the ships should stay in the US.

The vessels, dubbed the Ghost Fleet, were also on the agenda of an international meeting of environmentalists in Switzerland yesterday. Delegate Jim Puckett, of the Basel Action Network, said the four ships presently under tow for Able UK at Hartlepool were " the dirtiest'' in terms of being laded with oil, PCBs and asbestos.