A port worker has died following an incident at Wellington’s CentrePort on Tuesday morning.
Logistics company C3 confirmed the worker was one of its employees and said it was supporting his family, colleagues and others involved in the response.
“This is a tragic event and our priority is supporting the employee’s family, his colleagues and others, including those who attended the scene, during this incredibly difficult time,” C3 says.
CentrePort chief executive Anthony Delaney says the company is supporting the independent stevedore, police and safety regulator Maritime New Zealand following the incident.
“This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts and priority need to be with supporting the family of the worker as well as his colleagues and the independent stevedore, along with the CentrePort personnel that were part of the initial response.”
Delaney says CentrePort is unable to comment on the circumstances while the response and investigation are under way.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) says port workers have been left devastated by the death. The worker was not a union member.
“We offer our sympathy and support to family, friends and workmates of the deceased,” MUNZ national secretary Carl Findlay says.
“We must now await the investigation to determine what happened here.”
The union says it will not comment further until it has a clearer picture of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The death is the first at a major New Zealand port since 2022.
