The owners of the Rena have had their court date put off until October 5, the one-year anniversary of the shipping disaster.
Greece-based Daina Shipping Company representatives were due in Tauranga District Court on Thursday, but the case has now been adjourned until October 5 because of legal complexities, says Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Rendle.
The adjournment was sought by mutual agreement.
Daina Shipping faces charges under the Resource Management Act 1991 for the "discharge of harmful substances from ships" in the coastal marine area.
The charge carries a maximum fine of $600,000 and $10,000 for every day the offending continues.
As the registered owner of the Rena, Daina Shipping has overall responsibility for the operation of the ship.
The Liberian-flagged container ship struck the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga on October 5, 2011 spilling 350 tonnes of oil into the ocean.
The ship's former master Mauro Balomaga, 44, and navigation officer Leonil Relon, 37, were sentenced to seven months' jail in May on charges relating to the grounding, the pollution and attempting to cover up navigation errors.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission report on the Rena's grounding and subsequent break-up found the ship hit the reef due to navigation errors.
NZN