By Ben McKay, Wellington AAP
Maritime New Zealand has responded to the mayday call of a Singaporean container vessel off the northwestern tip of South Island, with 24 crew preparing to abandon the ship on Friday before seas improved.
The Shiling, which was in port at Wellington for much of the last month, found itself in distress after departing the capital’s harbour on Thursday.
It requested assistance at 8:27am local time, before escalating to a mayday call at 11am after losing power, with reports of eight metre swells in the Tasman Sea.
It is currently drifting north-east in rolling seas.
In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, Maritime NZ said the heavy swell had the crew “preparing to abandon the vessel”.
“Since the mayday call, conditions on scene have improved and the vessel master has stated he is currently comfortable staying on the vessel,” the statement read.
Maritime NZ dispatched an ocean-going tug boat from New Plymouth to the vessel, around 22 nautical miles NNW of Farewell Spit, which was expected to arrive around dusk.
“Due to where the vessel is, there is no risk of it running aground prior to the arrival of the ocean-going tug,” a statement read.
The Rescue Coordination Centre (RCCNZ) was engaged on the unfolding incident, with partner agencies including the defence force also on standby.
Rescue helicopters have been sent from Auckland and Christchurch, with others in Nelson and New Plymouth on standby.
RCCNZ operations manager Michael Clulow said vessels from Nelson and Wellington have been “prepositioned to respond should the situation deteriorate”.
On the RCCNZ’s request, a C-130 Hercules defence aircraft was sent to assess the ship’s situation, with a NH90 helicopter also placed on standby.
The mayday call comes after the Shiling failed to leave Wellington Harbour during an attempt last month, requiring two tug boats to come to the rescue.
The Shiling lost power in the main shipping channel, drifting across a sandbar before dropping both anchors and requiring towing.
The incident disrupted Cook Island ferries and other shipping operations, leading Maritime NZ to impose conditions on the vessel’s next departure after repairs.
Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder told news outlet Stuff he had “concerns about the reliability of the ship”, which was en route to Singapore for repairs.