Suella Braverman has been accused of a botched PR stunt after missing her target to house asylum seekers on barges.
The under-fire Home Secretary had previously claimed that the Bibby Stockholm would be in place in Portland Port, Dorset, by now - but the barge is still 120 miles away undergoing checks.
Her controversial scheme has been heavily criticised, with local Tory MP Richard Drax branding the vessel, which would have capacity for just over 500 people, a "quasi-prison".
Ms Braverman told the Commons on June 5 that the barge would be in Dorset "within a fortnight".
She has been accused of "wasting time and money" with the "unworkable" scheme.
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: "This seems to be another case of Home Office policy by press release that is failing to materialise.
"Braverman's plan for a barge on the Dorset coast is an unworkable plan that is wasting time and money, much like all of this government's asylum policy.
"The Home Secretary needs to get her priorities straight.
"She should focus instead on tackling the backlog of asylum cases created by her government's sheer incompetence, which has created the need for this plan in the first place."
The barge is currently in Falmouth, Cornwall for checks, maintenance and refurbishment work.
Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said: "I believe it will be in place fairly shortly."
Ms Braverman plans to use barges and sites including converted military bases to house asylum seekers in a desperate bid to slash the £6million daily bill for hotels as the Home Office deals with a massive asylum backlog.
The Bibby Stockholm was the first barge secured under the plan, but its journey to Portland will now take place in the coming weeks, according to the Home Office.
The 93-metre long vessel can house up to 506 people in its 222 bedrooms.
It is estimated the vessel would cost around £15,000 a day to charter, with the cost of berthing it in Portland upwards of £4,500 a day.
The cost of security and catering would also have to be met.
Earlier this month Rishi Sunak said two more barges had been secured - but wouldn't say where they would go.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The pressure on the asylum system has continued to grow and requires us to look at a range of accommodation options which offer better value for the British taxpayer than expensive hotels.
"This is why we will be using alternative accommodation options, such as barges, which are more manageable for communities, as our European neighbours are doing.
"We are continuing to work extremely closely with Dorset and Portland councils, as well as the local NHS and police services, to manage any impact in Portland and address the local communities' concerns, including through substantial financial support."
Mr Drax told the Commons in April that local leaders had "no other option than to consider taking legal action."
He fumed: "You're putting a landmine into a highly restricted port with young men - young men - trapped in a barge many hours a day with a few being let off to God knows where.
"Where are they going to go? What are they going to do? What happens if they don't come back?"
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council charity, has described the use of military bases and boats as "wholly inadequate places" to house people who have fled war and persecution.
And Steve Valdez-Symonds, from Amnesty International UK, branded it “just more of the political theatre that the government has created to obscure its gross mismanagement of the asylum system”.
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