KEY POINTS:
A contractor starts work at Opua today to strip the former Leander-class frigate Canterbury in readiness for the vessel to be sunk as a dive attraction.
A local charitable trust, which last year successfully bid to gain ownership of the decommissioned warship, hopes to get around $20,000 of scrap material a week from the Canterbury as work progresses.
Trust project co-ordinator Jock O'Connor says more valuable material, such as the ship's lead ballast in ingots as well as copper, will be removed first before work starts on the sheetmetal plates.
At least 16 workers will be on the job on the 3000-tonne ship and work is expected to take about six months before the ship is sunk in the Bay of Islands.
Mr O'Connor says the trust hopes to get about $400,000 from the sale of scrap material and other items.
That would leave about $250,000 still needed to fund the entire project.
Support is being sought from corporate sponsors, businesses and public donors.
Work on stripping and preparation for sinking the 36-year-old vessel in 26m of clear water at Deep Water Cove inside Cape Brett should be completed by August.
The trust is aiming for a scuttling in September, although no date has yet been set.
The 113m Canterbury was towed by tug to Opua on Friday after spending some time in dry dock at Devonport, where its hull was cleaned of the marine pest sea squirt to meet biosecurity requirements and consent conditions for its new undersea home.
The trust expects its role as a national and international dive attraction to generate up to $20 million in tourism earnings within a few years.
