It's now feared more than 50 asylum seekers drowned when their wooden boat smashed onto rocks on Christmas Island.

The search for 17 fishermen missing in the Southern Ocean has been suspended as no further survivors are expected.

Hope is fading for 17 missing fishermen after a South Korean trawler sank in the Southern Ocean, claiming at least five other lives.

The search for 17 people missing after a Korean fishing vessel sank in the Southern Ocean early today has been scaled down as it becomes increasingly unlikely further survivors will be found.

Five people are dead and 17 missing after a Korean fishing vessel sank in the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean, 2700km south east of Bluff, early this morning.

An inquiry has laid blame on both anti-whaling vessel Ady Gil and a Japanese whaling ship for their Southern Ocean crash earlier this year.

A Kiwi spent 12 hours in shark-infested waters after falling overboard while sailing solo from the Gold Coast to Cairns.

A 22-year-old New Zealand man has been arrested over the death of an 11-year-old girl in a boating accident in England.

Police piecing together the fatal last minutes of the sunken trawler Oyang 70 are hoping to finish interviews with the surviving crew this week.

Crew of the Amaltal Atlantis rubbed warmth into the bodies of the rescued fisherman and gave up their clothing to keep them warm.

Heavy security surrounded the arrival of survivors from the sinking of the Oyang 70, with three crew taken to hospital. Photo / Simon Baker

NZ will foot the bill to investigate the sinking of the Oyang 70 even though it was registered in Korea and sank in international waters.

The operator of a fishing ship is "shell-shocked" after three crew died and another three were lost, presumed dead, in waters off NZ.