Crew member dies aboard cargo ship in Bluff.

A foreign crew member aboard a cargo ship in Bluff has died suddenly this morning.

Emergency services were called to South Port around 9.15am in relation to the incident aboard the MSC Resilient III container ship.

Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Craig Harrison says the details of the event are “sketchy” thus far and that initial reports from local workers suggest that something went wrong while onboard cranes were being moved.

He says his understanding is that shore-based New Zealand stevedores had finished work on the vessel when the incident occurred.

Harrison adds that the Maritime Union has ongoing concerns about health and safety conditions aboard overseas flagged ships working in New Zealand ports.