Wild weather hampers search for missing fishermen

The FV Jubilee and its three crew members were caught up in a "brutal" storm in the early hours of Sunday and made a mayday call about 4.30am. Photo / Supplied

A remote-operated machine will comb the ocean floor off the Canterbury coast when the recovery operation for FV Jubilee resumes - if the weather holds out.

Wild weather and gales - gusting up to 150km/h - have been forecast for Canterbury today and rough seas may hamper the search efforts.

MetService has issued a strong wind warning for the region but police have not said whether the recovery operation will be delayed.

Inspector Craig McKay said on Tuesday the intention was to deploy the navy's remote operated vehicle (ROV) to confirm the identity and orientation of an "item of interest" in 40m of water near to the last known position of the FV Jubilee.

The FV Jubilee and its three crew members - 35-year-old Paul Russell Bennett, 47-year-old Jared Reese Husband and 55-year-old Terry Donald Booth - were caught up in a "brutal" storm in the early hours of Sunday and made a mayday call about 4.30am.

A massive search has been underway since it went down.

On Sunday, searchers found a liferaft, but no sign of the three fishermen who are feared dead.

The Royal New Zealand Navy was expected to leave Devonport Naval Base today and make its way towards Canterbury to help with the search.

A police investigation into the sinking is ongoing, and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has also opened an inquiry.

A team of two TAIC investigators have begun gathering information and working with search authorities and the fishing company on an investigation plan.

The commission said the aim was to find out what happened and why, in order to prevent a similar situation happening again.