There has been a hitch in the scuttling of a fire-damaged fishing vessel off the Otago coast.
Dong Won 701 was engulfed by fire while moored in Timaru in April 2018.
A Transport Accident Investigation Commission report released in late 2019 stated it could not determine the cause of the blaze, which burned for eight days.
It was intended the vessel, which is still in Timaru, be scuttled at an authorised dump site off the Otago coast in the first half of this year.
But this week an Environmental Protection Authority spokesman said the authority had not received any notification of a date for the scuttling.
In addition, the authority was carrying out a review of the consent conditions for disposing of the vessel.
"This relates to the extent, if any, of asbestos that might remain on Dong Won at the time of scuttling and, if some asbestos is to remain, the likelihood of this having any adverse environmental effects."
The review was expected to be completed within the next few weeks, the spokesman said.
