Able UK, which had won a contract to dismantle up to 13 vessels at its facility in Graythorp, Hartlepool, said a contract with the US government had been renegotiated.

It means that nine US Reserve Fleet ships originally destined for the UK will no longer be broken up on Teesside.

The company said it still wished to recycle the four ships that were currently moored on the River Tees, if permission was granted.

Peter Stephenson, chairman of Able UK, said: "We are pleased that we have been able to agree with the United States Department of Transportation Maritime Administration that our contract for the recycling of the four vessels continues.

"It is disappointing that, after all the efforts of so many people, the opportunity to bring the additional work, which would have been generated through the other nine vessels, has been lost due to the delay."

Able UK originally signed a deal to dismantle 13 ships at a dry dock facility in Hartlepool.

The first of the "ghost ships" arrived on the River Tees in November 2003 but a catalogue of planning and legal hurdles has delayed the remaining nine vessels, currently moored in the James River in Virginia, leaving for the UK.

The plan has been dogged by debate over the environmental impact it will have on the surrounding area and wildlife, with campaigners concerned about potentially toxic elements of the ageing navy ships.

Last year, Hartlepool councillors threw out planning applications by Able UK to decommission the vessels at its Graythorp yard.