The chief executive of the Lyttleton Port company is rejecting a union claim the port is unsafe due to congestion caused by quake repairs and heavy volumes.
The claim from the Maritime Union of New Zealand comes in the wake of two deaths in less than a month.
His death follows that of a contractor who became wedged between a logging truck and a forklift on 26 November. On Saturday, a watersider employed by Lyttelton Stevedoring, one of three companies contracted to load and unload vessels, died when he was struck on the head while unloading a ship.
Lyttelton Port of Christchurch chief executive Peter Davie denies the two incidents point to problems at the port but says he's happy to meet with the union.