KEY POINTS:
Bad weather has delayed the sinking of the navy's last steam warship as a dive attraction in the Bay of Islands.
Controlled explosions were to have blown about 12 holes in the hull of the 3000-tonne Leander Class frigate, the former HMNZS Canterbury, in Deep Water Cove near Cape Brett at the entrance to the Bay of Islands on Saturday.
However, a bad weather forecast would have made it too dangerous for the many small boats expected to witness the sinking, said the chairman of the Bay of Islands Canterbury Charitable Trust, Richard Witehira.
He also said the weather in the last day or two meant it was too risky for a tug to tow the 37-year-old ship to Deep Water Cove from Opua where it was being stripped of salvageable items and cleaned of contaminants so it would be environmentally safe for sinking.
"I am very, very disappointed but you can't sacrifice safety just to achieve what we want to achieve.
"The gods have not been kind to us," Mr Witehira said.
The ship was now likely to be sunk later this month or early next month.
Canterbury was the last steam warship in the navy when it was taken out of commission and it would join its sister ships, Waikato off Tutukaka and Wellington at Island Bay, as dive attractions.
The ship was expected to add millions of dollars to the tourist economy of Northland as divers did a package tour, taking in Waikato, the former navy oceanographic ship Tui just north of Tutukaka, Canterbury and the Rainbow Warrior in Matauri Bay.
- NZPA
