ABLE UK last night took a giant step forward in its controversial bid to scrap a fleet of former US Navy "ghost ships".

An American judge ruled that nine more ships, forming part of a 13-fleet £11m deal with the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) were clear to leave the States for the firm's Hartlepool breakers' yard.

They could now arrive as early as September this year.

Judge Rosemary M Collyer dismissed a case brought by environmental groups which claimed the vessels were laden with dangerous chemicals such as lead, asbestos and PCBs and as such their export violates US laws.

Able must now wait on the outcome of planning applications it has submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council in a £25m bid to develop its Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC) facility in order to carry out the work.

Should they be granted, along with a waste management licence from the Environment Agency, many more such ships could be heading to the North-East.

Last night, Able chief executive Peter Stephenson said: "The news from the United States is obviously very welcome and an important step forward."

Of the nine US ships, he said: "Once inspected and approved for towing, a decision on when they will be moved to our facility will be dependent on the time of the year - the optimum weather window for bringing ships across the Atlantic is between March and September - and the availability of suitable tugs."

Hartlepool councillor and environmental campaigner Geoff Lilley said: "At the very least, this American lawsuit has meant that MARAD was forced to do everything that the law required of it, which it may not have done had the green groups not pushed for it.

"The only thing that is left to us now is the planning permission. If the people of Hartlepool and Teesside don't want these ships, then they have to make their objections heard."

Richard Gutierrez, of the Seattle based Basel Action Network, one of the groups that opposed the deal, said the judge had dismissed the case on a "technicality".

He said: "We are formulating steps on how to approach this with our lawyers, but an appeal is an option open to us."

* Go to www.ghostships.co.uk for regular updates.