Warship forces ghost fleet out of Portuguese waters

A Portuguese warship forced two ghost ships, on route to Hartlepool from the US, out if its territorial waters last night.

Navy spokesman Gouveia Melo said a tug towing the two controversial ships, feared to contain dangerous residues, strayed six nautical miles inside Portuguese waters around the mid-Atlantic Azores Islands.

The ageing vessels – the vintage 1965 submarine tender Canopus and the cargo ship Compass Island from 1953 – were heading to a ship-breaking yard in Hartlepool.

“The tug captain had told us he would not come into Portuguese waters but then he did,” Melo said.

A navy vessel that patrols the Azores was sent out to confront the tug.

“The captain instructed the tug captain to leave our waters and he did so straight away,” Melo said.

The tug asked to be allowed to dock in the Azores to refuel but the authorities denied permission.

A ship from the Azores refuelled the tug and it continued its journey toward Britain, monitored by the warship, Melo said.

In Britain, protesters are preparing to meet two other ships, the 58-year-old Caloosahatchee, which was due to dock today, and the equally aged tanker Canisteo.