The controversial casino boat is due in Bermuda at the end of September.

The dates for the vessel?s arrival have been shifting for the last three months because work is still being completed, said Llewellyn Peniston, the lawyer who is representing the agents.

The agents who will be chartering the boat are a local company called Corinthian Limited and its owners are Estrellas Management Limited, an overseas company.

Mr. Peniston said that the 196-foot boat has three decks but will not have accommodations on board ? it is merely a party boat, he said.

The vessel was originally built by the executives of the Shell Oil Company in the late 1970s, said Mr. Peniston.

He added that the vessel?s purpose at that time was to ferry various executives around the world, looking for oil deposits.

Mr. Peniston said that the vessel also did seven-night cruises in the Galapagos Islands but after refitting, the ship will not have accommodations.

The Panama-registered boat has caused controversy with legislators, who passed the Prohibition of Gaming Machines Act 2004 in the House of Assembly in June.

The Act, which bans all machines used for gambling, came into effect July 1, 2004.

Attorney General Larry Mussenden said in an earlier story that cruise ships are exempted from the law because they are considered ?passenger ships? ? ships which sail into Bermuda from a port outside of Bermuda and vice versa.

He said that gaming machines on a ship based in Bermuda, sailing into international waters and then returning to Bermuda, will be outlawed under the Act.

However, Mr. Peniston said that a vessel?s jurisdiction is determined by the country with which it is registered. So, is subject to the laws of Panama.

Currently, the ship is berthed in Alabama, where the refitting and interior work continues.