Green row over ship scrapping

A court order has prevented work on the US "ghost ships"

Green campaigners claim a Royal Navy ship containing asbestos is to be exported from Portsmouth to a breaker's yard in Turkey.

Greenpeace has accused the government of hypocrisy for stopping foreign ships being broken up in Britain but allowing old UK vessels to be disposed of in developing countries.

The pressure group says the amphibious landing craft HMS Intrepid contains around 40 tonnes of asbestos, lead, heavy fuel oil and "cancer-causing PCBs".

Its accusation follows the furore over the arrival of two so-called US "ghost ships" at a breaker's yard in Hartlepool earlier this week.

A high court injunction has halted any dismantling work on the aging vessels.

'Completely unacceptable'

Greenpeace UK campaigns director Blake Lee-Harwood said: "Britain should look after it's own toxic ships or clean them up and export them as uncontaminated scrap.

"It's completely unacceptable that Royal Naval ships end up being broken by barefoot children with lump hammers in the Third World rather than dismantled using state of the art technology."

The pressure group has now written to both the Defence Minister Geoff Hoon and Environment Minister Margaret Beckett enquiring why Royal Navy vessels are being scrapped in "appalling conditions".

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Bids have been received from a ship breaker abroad to buy the former Intrepid and these are currently being considered.

"Any transfer of the former Intrepid will be undertaken in compliance with all necessary UK Environment Agency and EC environmental regulations.

"With all vessels sold for recycling the navy undertakes extensive preparations concluding with cleaning and a service by a licensed contractor to identify any hazardous material."