The stranded chemical ship the West Sailorwill not be towed to port until 4am tomorrow morning.
According to Siptu International Transport Federation inspector Ken Fleming, the towing of the boat, which was due to take place at midday today, will be delayed for more than 13 hours.
The ship is now expected to be brought to Cork harbour early tomorrow morning.
Mr Fleming said he was concerned that nobody had yet boarded the vessel, which has been anchored off the Kerry coast since Tuesday.
The crew has reported it is in good health, but no member of the Irish naval service, the emergency services or the coast guard have boarded the vessel, which reported a fire onboard at around 1am on Wednesday morning.
Mr Fleming said that nobody appeared willing to give him any information and that he was unable to get representatives of any authority on the phone to confirm the situation with the ship and its crew.
"Apparently the ship's crew want to go home," said Mr Fleming.
However it is unlikely that this can take place until the ship is towed ashore and the legal status of both the crew members and the captain of the vessel is established.
The majority of the Maltese-registered vessel's 15 crew members, thought to be Filipino, are believed to members of a Norwegian trade union.
The commander of the naval service vessel the LE Aoife,which is monitoring the ship, reported that the ship is in no danger and that all members of the crew are believed to be safe.