THE controversial former French naval carrier the Clemenceau was last night finally on its way to the North- East and expected to arrive in a matter of days.

Hartlepool firm Able UK said the project to dismantle the ship was the biggest seen in Europe and would provide much-needed jobs for the region.

Environmentalists said the Clemenceau – which contains an estimated 700 tonnes of asbestos- contaminated material – should have remained in France.

Earlier, a French court had rejected a last-ditch attempt to gain an injunction to prevent the 27,000-tonne ship from leaving its port of Brest, on the north-west tip of France.

Weather permitting, the Clemenceau – which in 2006 was turned back from India, following protests over its scrapping – could arrive on Teesside this weekend.

Once moored at Able’s Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC), near Hartlepool, it will be scrapped alongside four so-called US “ghost ship”

vessels and three UK ships.

Yesterday, a small crowd watched as it was manoeuvred by eight tugs out of a military harbour at Brest, before being hooked up to an English tug, the Anglian Earl, at sea.

It is thought environmentalists could attempt to disrupt the arrival of the Clemenceau – also known as the Q790 – once it reaches Hartlepool.

Two French environmental groups, AE2D – which was behind the injunction bid on Monday – and Mor Glaz have said they will stage demonstrations in Hartlepool.

Hartlepool independent councillor Geoff Lilley said the arrival of the Clemenceau would open a “Pandora’s box”.

He said: “We are going to see a lot more similar vessels to the Clemenceau. The French Government should deal with this themselves.”

Iris Ryder, of environmental group Friends of Hartlepool, said: “A lot of people do not want Hartlepool turned into a toxic dumping ground for the rest of the world.”

Able said work to dismantle the ship, which has already been partially stripped, would create 200 jobs.

Work will begin after Easter and take five months, with asbestos material removed from the ship disposed of at the nearby Seaton Meadows landfill site.

However, an Able spokesman denied a deal had been struck with Corus for the 24,000 tonnes of steel thought to be on board.

Able UK chief executive Peter Stephenson said: “This is a very important day for both ourselves, our French partners and the ship recycling industry, because it underlines the growing recognition of the need for high-quality facilities to meet the increasing demand for responsible ship recycling.

“Recycling the Q790 will be the largest project so far handled by any European yard but, with the biggest dry dock in the world, we have the capacity to undertake the recycling of the vessel alongside the others already at TERRC.

“At a time when there are so many economic problems facing the world – and especially a region such as the North- East – I think it is crucially important that we are in a position to be at the forefront of an industry which has enormous potential for growth and job creation in the years ahead.”