members of the Bermuda Industrial Union's fisheries division raised concerns over where it was to be sunk.

BIU President Derrick Burgess yesterday said a union delegation met last Friday with the Director of Agriculture, John Barnes, over fears the proposed resting place of the 225-foot freighter may present a danger to nearby reefs.

Mr. Burgess raised these concerns in a telephone conversation with Minister of the Environment, Irving Pearman, who reportedly told the union chief another site would be found.

Mr. Pearman denied making any such commitment when contacted yesterday.

"I made it very clear there was a committee set up (consisting of divers, fisherman and sport fisherman among others) that selected the site,'' Mr.

Pearman said. "I told him it was a matter for Marine and Ports.'' The Department of Marine and Ports had planned to sink the ship today over a sandhole off the west end of the Island -- in an area known as the Eastern Blue Cut -- but postponed it for one week after the Environment Ministry said the Xing Da needed more cleaning.

"What they're (fishermen) saying is the sandhole is too small and during heavy weather the ship could shift, causing some damage to the reefs,'' said Mr. Burgess.

But local diver Michael Burke of Blue Water Divers said it was improbable the freighter would shift in heavy seas. And he described the "sandhole'' as a patch of sand about 250-feet square.

"There are about four or five sandholes out there, just beyond the reef,'' he said.

The ill-fated freighter was found adrift last October about 140 miles west of here, carrying about 80 illegal Chinese immigrants en route to the US. She was subsequently boarded by armed US Marines and towed to Bermuda.

Following the operation, Bermuda was awarded the rusting freighter by American authorities and planned to sink it in about 100 feet of water as a dive attraction and artificial reef. Crews from the Island's diving community have spent the winter cleaning and preparing her for her final voyage to the bottom of the ocean.

However staff from the Ministry of the Environment ruled more clean-up of the ship's engine room was needed, said Director of Marine and Ports Ron Ross.

In addition Government is still awaiting final handover paperwork from the US Marshall's service, which is expected tomorrow, he said.

Divers have also requested that two additional access holes be cut into the hull near the engine hold.

Mr. Ross said Xing Da will now be sunk on May 14 about 1.8 miles off the Eastern Blue Cut light beacon, in an area clear of the reefs.