THE saga surrounding plans to scrap a toxic fleet of former US merchant navy ships in the North-East appeared to be drawing to a close on Wednesday evening

Able UK, which is to dismantle the obsolete fleet at its Hartlepool base, confirmed it had won the necessary approvals for the work from the Environment Agency and local council chiefs.

It was now awaiting the result of a law suit, being heard yesterday, filed in the US Federal Court by environmental groups in a bid to prevent the first vessels leaving their Virginia moorings.

Last night Friends of the Earth said an assessment by the Environment Agency (EA) on which it based a decision to grant Able a modification to its waste management licence had been "rushed, sloppy and inadequate".

The EA said it was permitting an increase in the waste handling capacity at Able's Graythorp site from 24,500 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes per year after a "thorough assessment" reviewing all the potential risks to the Tees Estuary and the surrounding sensitive habitat sites.

Craig McGarvey, of the EA, said: "The recovery facility at Teesside has been subject to stringent scrutiny and has been judged to have the capacity of carrying out the work while fulfilling all of our requirements to protect the environment."

It also revealed that the US Marine Administration (MARAD), which is responsible for the ships, and the US Environment Protection Agency were intending to visit Teesside on a "regular basis" to guarantee the work was being carried out in the "most appropriate way".

A Hartlepool Council spokesman said it had confirmed to the company that it did have planning permission for the dismantling and refurbishment of ships at the Graythorp site.

Able managing director Peter Stephenson said: "The efforts by some groups, notably Friends of the Earth, to raise every possible objection to this contract have been nothing more than unjustified scaremongering."

The movement of the first vessels from their current birth would not begin until the outcome of the US court case was known -- hopefully by the end of the week.

Durham County councillors will Thursday morning discuss the issue after a presentation by their environment director Chris Tunstall and the Environment Agency.