Less than two days before the first in a fleet of "toxic ships" approaches the Irish coast, the Minister for the Marine, Mr Ahern, has called for EU action to stop the convoy.
The Minister will raise the issue this morning with the EU Transport Commissioner, Ms Loyola de Palacio, at a meeting in Farmleigh House, Dublin. The Minister said last night that he would tell the Transport Commissioner that the EU needed to "get tough" on the issue, and protect the interests of "third party" coastal states such as Ireland.
The Minister will ask the Commissioner to examine what further EU powers may be required to prevent European waters being used as a "highway" for toxic vessels which pose "serious threats" to the coastlines of member states.
Ireland would make this a priority when it takes over presidency of the EU next January, he said.
The fleet of 13 obsolete ships is part of a fleet of 142 which the US Maritime Administration wants to scrap for environmental reasons, under a $14.8 million contract with a British company, Able UK.
The vessels contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos and heavy diesel. However, the British Environment Agency has now said that the licence obtained by the British company for the contract is invalid.
The first two in the convoy, currently crossing the Atlantic en route to Teeside, are due some 250 miles off the south Irish coast on Friday night - the closest contact the fleet will have with the Irish coastline, according to the Minister.
The Irish Coast Guard will monitor their progress en route to Britain, a spokesman for the Minister said yesterday.
The Minister said that the issue of transferring such vessels was not just one for the US and Britain, but for the EU as a whole. "Ireland is not alone in opposing this convoy. Other EU member states have also voiced their concerns," Mr Ahern said.
"I believe the time has come to crackdown on what to me seems absolute folly," the Minister said. "Yes, old ships constructed of dangerous materials, including asbestos, lead in paint, and PCBs have to be made safe. But this should be done in the country of origin or as near to it as possible.
"Transporting these vessels 4,000 miles on the high seas simply exposes countries such as Ireland to unnecessary risks," he said.
