Maritime New Zealand is investigating how a crew member on the deep sea trawler Drysdale fell into the ship's hold while the vessel was berthed at Bluff on Monday evening.
The man was yesterday in a comfortable condition in Southland Hospital with a cracked collar bone and concussion, Sanford's deepwater fleet manager, Darryn Shaw, said in a statement.
Drysdale catches scampi throughout New Zealand waters, processing, freezing and packing the seafood at sea.
Mr Shaw said the accident happened as crew members were on deck lifting the hatch over the hold opening. Emergency services and WorkSafe were alerted about 5.55pm.
A Maritime New Zealand spokesman said yesterday the organisation was responsible for investigating all incidents which occurred on board vessels, whether they were moving or berthed.
A maritime officer based in Bluff was called out on Monday night and an investigation had begun. It was not known how long it would take to complete, he said.
Mr Shaw thanked the other crew members for looking after their colleague until emergency services arrived.
''While the freezer hold was not running at the time, the temperature in the hold was still cold, so the actions of the crew ensured the man remained warm and monitored until emergency services could assess his condition before he was lifted out of the hold and taken to hospital.''
