Staff member broke wrist when hit by truck on Bluebridge ferry at Wellington wharf

A worker who was hit by a truck on Bluebridge’s Straitsman ferry this morning has been released from hospital with a broken wrist.

StraitNZ Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady said in a statement the crew member was hit by a unit reversing on one of its ferries this morning.

“The crew member is now recovering at home and the company is doing what it can to support him.

Bluebridge is working with Maritime NZ to establish how the incident happened.

Emergency services descended on the ferry this morning, with a Wellington Free Ambulance spokeswoman saying it was a “multi-agency response”.

A police spokesman confirmed police responded to an incident at Waterloo Quay, which was reported at 7.30am.

“It appears one person has sustained serious injuries in an incident involving a truck.”

Inquiries into how the incident occurred were underway, he said.

It was a Straitsman staff member who was injured on the main vehicle deck of the ferry, a Maritime NZ spokesperson said.

The Maritime Union’s Wellington branch secretary Jim King said the staff member appeared to have suffered an injury to his wrist or arm, as well as bruising down the body.

He is a member of the union, King said.

King has spoken to Bluebridge and said representatives from the company were with the man in hospital.

”Our concern and thoughts are with him and his family.”

One person was injured in an incident on the Straitsman ferry's main vehicle deck. Photo / Jed Bradley

King said it was possible the man would be released from hospital today.

They were still working to make contact with him and offer him any support needed to “make sure he’s looked after”.

A hospital spokesman said the patient was in a stable condition in the emergency department.

Maritime NZ earlier told the ship’s Master the vessel must remain at the dock until an investigation has been completed.

By 11am, Maritime NZ said the vessel had been released from the scene but the investigation was ongoing.

Bluebridge told passengers on its website Straitsman sailings were currently delayed by about five hours.

“If you are sailing on Straitsman, you will receive an email and text regarding expected departure and final check-in times.”

Emergency services were called to the scene on the Straitsman ferry at 7.30am. Photo / Jed Bradley

The incident is the latest in a string of unfortunate events for the Cook Strait ferry operators.

Bluebridge and Interislander ferries have both been hit with breakdowns and engine problems over the past few weeks. Some of the ferries have broken down partway through journeys across the strait.

Multiple sailings have been cancelled and thousands of passengers left stranded as both ferry operators are booked to capacity until mid to late March.

The displaced passengers have had to fork out hundreds of dollars for flights - some abandoning their cars with plans to fly back in a month to retrieve them - and others have had to find medium-term accommodation until they can squeeze onto another sailing across the strait.

The ferry shortage is exacerbated by one of Bluebridge’s vessels, the Strait Feronia, being in Sydney for mandatory drydocking, and Interislander’s Kaitaki being freight-only while it is audited after a breakdown.

Kaitaki’s breakdown sparked a mayday call and dramatic emergency response after the vessel stopped in the middle of the strait several weeks ago.

The Aratere also broke down in the strait near the entrance to the Tory Channel a short time later, leaving the boat apparently adrift as wild weather from Cyclone Gabrielle approached.