Debate over rent paid by Marine Reach's vessel Pacific Hope is on hold after councillors discovered there is already a deal in operation that is not mentioned in the staff report.

Councillor John Robson called off the debate over whether the ship should be ‘adopted' by the city when he learned the ship is already paying half rent because of an unrecorded agreement.

Marine Reach's vessel Pacific Hope is at the centre of a rent row.

The staff report states an agreement was made between the council and Marine Reach in August 2013, that it would pay half the normal fee for a berth on the slip jetty. It means the charity that operates the ship pays about $2000 a month instead of $4000.

But staff were unable to answer John's question about who made the earlier agreement to pay 50 per cent of the normal amount, and whether the council was being asked to reduce the normal rate by 50 per cent, or the rate that the ship is currently paying.

Chairman Steve Morris accepted his resolution that council leave it until the next meeting. Mayor Stuart Crosby, who is also patron of Marine Reach, stood down during the discussion.

Pacific Hope's skipper Jesse Misa also took issue with the contents of the report. Speaking after the meeting he challenges the assertion the Pacific Hope, at 480 tonnes and 54.1m length overall, is too large for the finger jetty.

The jetty was originally built as part of the 600-tonne slip structure, says Jesse. And he says Pacific Hope is lighter and presents less windage than Mark Scapens' barge and two storey accommodation block moored astern of the Pacific Hope.

'Some of the information that is given is incorrect concerning the size of the vessel,” says Jesse. 'The big structure behind us is much bigger and heavier than us. It's much heavier in volume and it will have more windage.”

He says the wharfage issue is because while the ship which takes up 60 metres alongside, it is perched on the end of the wharf with only 20 metres at the stern actually alongside the wharf. The bow lines are on the mooring dolphin, some metres north of the wharf.

'You see we have had much bigger ships there before,” adds Jesse. 'The Island Mercy was 900-tonnes and that wharf has been improved now, so in a way the information was incorrect.”

The Pacific Hope is undergoing a refit and is expected to embark on a voyage around the Pacific Islands in June, providing eye care and dental operations.

Marine Reach is seeking free berthage for the Pacific Hope until June 30, 2015, while also seeking the city's help with storage.

It has been based in Tauranga for 24 years and in that time has served over 400,000 people with medical, dental and optometry services in over 18 nations.

In addition to reduced or free berthage Marine Reach is seeking free or low-cost storage for supplies and it wants the city council to adopt the ship as an expression of the city's humanitarian support into the Pacific.