A man is thought to have fallen from a bulk carrier off the Otago coast.
The Chinese national was last seen at 8am on Saturday when he finished his shift on the ship, but failed to report for duty that afternoon.
A thorough search of the vessel was carried out and it retraced its journey, searching for any signs of the man in the water.
The Otago rescue helicopter and a nearby vessel also scoured the coastline, but the search has been put on hold.
Maritime New Zealand believed there was little chance the person could have survived in the water.
A review was being carried out to assess whether a further search would be successful.
RNZ
