The former flagship of the French navy - the aircraft carrier Clemenceau - is on its way to Hartlepool on Teesside to be broken down for recycling in the world's biggest dry dock.
But dismantling the Clemenceau will be both a technically complicated and environmentally controversial process - because there is potentially lethal asbestos on board.
BBC Radio 5 Live met the Chairman and Chief Executive of Able UK, Peter Stephenson, whose company is carrying out the work at Seaton Port.
Click 'show captions' for photograph information.
Music: Multiplex composed by Andy Clark. Photos by Anna Lee, Jacques Carney and AFP. Slideshow production by Anna Lee and Paul Kerley. Publication date 6 February 2009.
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