The 17m Ohau is dwarfed by the bow of its berthed neighbour, the 130m Italian-registered, ice-strengthened Italica.
The Ohau is a traditional double-ender vessel, understood to be Dunedin-built in 1979, and is expected to be off the slipway and leave, either today or tomorrow, a port spokesman said.
PrimePort had disestablished its own slipway last year, to make way for more logs.
A replacement pilot vessel has been ordered, but no decision had been made on selling Ohau.
Port Otago is at present considering options for moving its Kitchener St slipway, which more than likely would be somewhere in the upper harbour.
The cargo ship Italica arrived in Dunedin in March, taking a break from providing support for the Italian Antarctic base in the Ross Sea, after it was decided not to return the vessel to Italy this year.
Italica was expected to be ready to return to work by early December.
