The Berge Rishiri ship is operated by the Berge Bulk fleet carriers. Photo / Supplied
The Berge Rishiri ship is operated by the Berge Bulk fleet carriers. Photo / Supplied
A man is presumed to have gone overboard from a bulk carrier vessel off the Otago coast.
The ship, Berge Rishiri, is operated by Berge Bulk fleet carriers.
The person, a Chinese national, was last seen at 8am on Saturday morning when he finished his shift on the ship, a Maritime NZ spokesperson said in a statement today.
"The person failed to report for duty at 4pm, and Maritime New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre (RCCNZ) was advised."
The spokesperson said they "presume" the man had fallen overboard.
They also said that the search for the man is on hold as a thorough review is undertaken to assess the "likely success" of his rescue, given the amount of time he has been missing.
The Berge Rishiri, operated by the Berge Bulk fleet carriers, in port at Casablanca, Morocco, May 2021. Photo / Farid Mernissi
"A cold-water survivability expert engaged by RCCNZ believes there is little chance the person would have survived," the spokesperson explained.
"All search assets have now been stood down pending the search review and assessment."
According to South Port's shipping schedule, the ship was scheduled to leave Bluff at 1am on Saturday.
Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Craig Harrison said that this kind of incident is much more common than people realise.
"There are around 400,000 seafarers working on cargo vessels globally, and official figures show that between 2015 and 2019, 527 were killed at sea, and 509 went missing," Harrison explained in a statement.
He also said New Zealand needs to be doing more to protect the welfare of international crews in our waters, and wanted Maritime NZ to investigate whether the crew were having adequate rest breaks and were not required to secure any cargo while underway on their voyage.
"It is a common practice with some New Zealand stevedores with low standards to have overseas seafarers lash cargo when the vessel is underway, rather than shore-based stevedores doing the work in the port," Harrison said.
"We would like to know how long the seafarer had been at sea and on duty and have assurances they were not kept on the vessel longer than their contracted period, as we have seen huge mental health issues with seafarers basically kept captive on vessels for months, and sometimes years."
He said incidents like this can be a red flag of other potential issues aboard ships.
"These crew members are in New Zealand waters, their work is essential for New Zealand, and in our view, their rights and welfare are often overlooked."
