A crew member is missing after going overboard from a commercial fishing vessel in the Southern Ocean, hundreds of kilometres south of New Zealand.
Maritime New Zealand says its Rescue Coordination Centre was alerted to the incident about 8.30pm last Thursday, after a person went overboard from the vessel near the Auckland Islands.
The fishing vessel was around 100 nautical miles southeast of the Auckland Islands, more than 600 kilometres south of Invercargill, when the incident occurred.
An on-water search was launched, with distress relays broadcast through the Maritime Operations Centre. Search planners also used computer-aided drift modelling to help guide the response in the remote and challenging Southern Ocean conditions.
The missing crew member, understood to be a foreign national, has not been seen since entering the water.
Maritime New Zealand says it will investigate the incident.
The case highlights the risks faced by commercial fishing crews working in some of the most isolated and unforgiving waters near Aotearoa.
Further details are expected as authorities continue their response and investigation.
