There are plans to sink a 60m-long ship off Mana Island, northwest of Wellington, for use as a dive wreck.

The move follows the granting of resource consent to a charitable trust, SinkF69, to sink HMNZS Wellington off Wellington's south coast.

Business Porirua managing director Mandy Natusch said local businesses wanted to sink a ship off Mana Island's north-east coast, which was well-protected from high seas and easy for dive boats to access.

SinkF69 chairman Marco Zeeman said HMNZS Wellington was likely to be sunk near Taputeranga Island in 2005.