Plans to tow the historic LV18 Lightship up the River Orwell for a six week residency in Ipswich on Monday, had to be put on hold.

With tugs alongside the vessel at Harwich, complications over insurance cover delayed the journey which was planned for hight tide on Monday afternoon.

The problem still hadn’t been resolved today.

Lightship spokesman Tony O’Neil said: “These really were unforeseen circumstances. We were all ready to go and we would like to apologise to anybody who has been disappointed.

“We are still alongside at Harwich.

“We had a film crew on board and a drone ready to film over the Orwell Bridge.

“There was a problem with the insurance policy cover.

“We hope this can be sorted out very soon and we can get up to Ipswich.

“We have a six weeks window to get into Ipswich, and we plan to be on air with radio broadcasts for four weeks from September 15.

“These are the sort of things that happen in pirate radio.

“We are still determined to get into Ipswich.

“This has disappointed a lot of people.

“We hope it can be resolved very soon, and we can get up to Ipswich. We are still ready to go.”

The LV18 was the last working lightvessel, before automation, and is also home to an exhibition of artifacts that celebrate the Pirate Radio days on the North Sea, off Felixstowe and Harwich.

The plan is to use this first Ipswich visit for tourist days, radio broadcasts and live music concerts on board.