There are 22 crew on board a 180-metre-long bulk carrier which has lost power and is drifting off the North Island's west coast.
File photo. Photo: 123RF
The Maritime New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre was notified last night the Maltese registered La Richardais had lost propulsion enroute to Port Taranaki.
It is currently 16 nautical miles off the coast between Raglan and New Plymouth.
An oil and gas supply vessel with towing capability is alongside La Richardais and arranging to connect a towline to bring the vessel to Port Taranaki.
It is due in midday tomorrow.
Maritime NZ said its Incident Response Team was actively monitoring the situation.