French Le Clem joins ghost fleet: 60 Year Carrier Being Dismantled

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

HUNDREDS of people lined the coast to a huge aircraft carrier finally arrive in Hartlepool.
The former French Navy ship Le Clemenceau docked at Able UK's Graythorp site following a four-day journey.

Work on the £8.7m dismantling contract can now get underway following months of delays through poor weather and legal wrangles.

But the vessel – which is carrying 700 tonnes of asbestos contaminated material – may not be the last ship to enter Able UK's Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC) before the dam is closed to create a dry dock.

Able UK chiefs have confirmed that they are continuing negotiations that could see a further two British ships brought to the facility to be dismantled.

Hundreds of people lined the seafront at Seaton Carew while many more headed to the Headland and the North Gare for the best view of the ship coming in yesterday.

Dozens of English and French journalists and television crews were at Able UK's site, on the outskirts of Hartlepool, to witness the vessel being towed in.

Offshore tug the Anglian Earl had towed the vessel from France to the Tees Turning Circle, where it was then brought into the Seaton Channel by four river tugs.

The whole operation took a couple of hours before the ship was berthed inside the huge dry dock shortly before 4pm.

The dismantling of Le Clemenceau - which is also known as the Q790 - is the largest ship recycling project ever undertaken in Europe.

The 32,000 tonne ship, which was towed from Brest Harbour, in France, is berthed between four American and three British vessels which are waiting to be recycled.

The actual dismantling process is expected to start after Easter and last for around a year with the creation of 200 jobs, many of which expected go to people from Hartlepool.

Peter Stephenson, the chairman and chief executive of Able UK, told the Mail: "This is a very proud day for myself and everyone at Able and I would hope it is a proud day for the town of Hartlepool.

"This is the end of a very long five year process and we are delighted to finally get the ship in.

"Hundreds of jobs have been lost to the area over the years as a result of the delays, but we are hoping we can now move forward."

Launched in 1957, Le Clemenceau was the mainstay of the French naval fleet and sailed more than one million nautical miles before being withdrawn from active service in 1997.

Capt. John Carroll Relieved of Duties

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

The Rear Admiral's decision was swifter than the Captains Command Blunder

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) -- The commanding officer of a $1 billion warship that ran aground along the coast of Honolulu has been relieved of duty, the Navy said Monday.

Rear Adm. Dixon R. Smith, commander of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, relieved Capt. John Carroll of his duties pending the results of an investigation into Thursday's incident. The Navy on Monday freed the vessel, which had been stuck for more than three days.

Carroll had taken command of the USS Port Royal in October. Capt. John T. Lauer III, who is currently assigned to the staff of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, was temporarily assigned as the guided missile cruiser's commanding officer.

The ship - one of the Navy's most advanced - ran aground when it was offloading sailors, contractors and shipyard personnel late Thursday. Efforts to refloat the vessel over the weekend were unsuccessful.

The Port Royal was extracted from a rock and sand shoal about 2 a.m. Monday after officials removed about 500 tons of seawater and 100 tons of anchors and other equipment, the Navy said in a statement. Officials said they plan to examine the wreck site to determine if there was a fuel leak or spill.

After an initial assessment, the ship was being towed to Naval Station Pearl Harbor for inspection. Dry docking at the shipyard should be completed in approximately one week, officials said.

The Navy has not discussed what may have caused the grounding.

The vessel had just finished its first day of sea trials after wrapping up a four-month routine maintenance stay at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. The 15-year-old Port Royal usually has about 24 officers and 340 enlisted sailors on board.

The Pearl Harbor-based Port Royal is capable of firing interceptors into space to shoot down missiles. It's also equipped with Aegis ballistic missile tracking technology.