High Court orders suspended quashing of MMO dredging licence for Teesport harbour authority

The MMO granted PD Teesport Ltd, which manages the country's largest port, a 10-year licence in November 2025, allowing the harbour authority to dredge the River Tees and the waters around Hartlepool for navigational purposes.

However, locals raised concerns about the environmental impact of the licence.

Claimant Dr Simon Gibbon argued that the dredging programme could contaminate the surrounding waters. He stated that sediment on the riverbed is known to be contaminated with a range of forever chemicals thanks to the area's industrial past.

The industrial chemist claimed that the MMO failed to comply with the safety rules set out in the OSPAR Convention, which require a certain number of samples to be taken of the material being dredged.

According to Dr Gibbon, the OSPAR Guidelines require 835 samples to test the 1,660 hectares covered by the licence, but the MMO granted the licence based on just 31 samples.

"By taking only 3.7% of the required samples, the MMO is effectively dredging blind. They cannot possibly know what they are digging up and dumping into our seas," he wrote in a crowdfunding page for the litigation.

At the High Court, the claimant's argument centred on an alleged failure by the MMO to require adequate assessment of the environmental impacts of the licence, including:

• misapplying the OSPAR Guidelines for the Management of Dredged Material;
• failing to consider alternatives to disposing of dredged material at sea;
• failing to require an environmental impact assessment;
• failing to carry out a lawful habitats assessment; and
• failing to take account of evidence that the dredged material was contributing to seal pup mortality in the Tees Harbour.

The grounds also challenged the lawfulness of the licence due to the unenforceability of a condition excluding certain areas from dredging.

Dr Gibbon asked the court to quash the licence but to suspend that decision for nine months, in which the MMO must carry out a full re-determination of the licence.

Dr Gibbon was represented by Toby Fisher of Matrix Chambers and lawyers at Goodenough Ring Solicitors.

According to Matrix Chambers, once Dr Gibbon filed his claim, the MMO agreed to the suspended quashing of the licence.

The set also noted that although the MMO consented to judgment on narrow grounds, it committed to conducting a full reconsideration of the licence application, including obtaining any further necessary information from PD Teesport Ltd.

Commenting on the High Court’s decision, Dr Gibbon said: “While the MMO refused to admit their sediment sampling was flawed, we have forced them into a 12-month 'full reconsideration' of the application.

“This resets the clock. It means the vital evidence gathered regarding seal pup mortality and toxic hotspots must now be put back on their desk. We will use this 12-month window to hold their feet to the fire and demand they follow the science, and we are fully prepared to take them back to court if they fail to do so.”

A MMO spokesperson said: "We have carefully considered all the evidence and agreed not to defend this case. We continue to liaise with all stakeholders involved in any licensing applications submitted in relation to the River Tees.”

Adam Carey