All of the 43 crew members of the fishing vessel from New Zealand that caught fire, are now headed to Lyttelton on two vessels.

The crew members had to abandon the Amaltal Columbia ship after it caught fire and 39 crew members were taken abort Russian fishing vessel, Ivan Golubets that initially came to their rescue while the other four were including the captain and the chief engineer were transferred to San Discovery which also made its way to help the crew.

The 54-metre Amaltal Columbia is now about 70km northeast of the Lyttelton Heads. According to reports, all the crew members are safe and not injuries have been reported. The fire had staretd in the meal hold in the stern of the ship. The Rescue Co-ordination Centre in the region said that it had received a fire alert call at 5:24 am while the call was made mayday at about 5:40 am.

Search and rescue mission co-ordinator Conrad Reynecke has said that preparations are being made to have helicopters from Christchurch ready with winching capability on standby for any requirement.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has launched an inquiry into the fire incident.