At least five fire crews battle a blaze on a fishing vessel at the Port of Timaru on Monday night.

Witnesses report hearing a loud bang when a fishing ship caught fire at the Timaru Port.

Ten fire crews and a tug boat are fighting the blaze at the front of the 81-metre Dong Won 701 fishing vessel docked next to the San Won building.

Fire and Emergency NZ southern communications shift manager Tim Reynolds said 10 fire crews including one from Christchurch were responding to the incident, which started about 9.25pm.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF The ship is docked next to the San Won cool stores building in Timaru.

Do you know more? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz.

He said the ship, the Dong Won 701, was "well involved in flames", but all persons from the ship were accounted for.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Firefighters from around South Canterbury are being called to the burning ship in Timaru's harbour.

Reynolds said fire crews were still actively dealing with the fire as of 11.50pm, and had not confirmed it was contained yet.

He said the size of the response was due to the size of the fire, and he expected at least some of the crews would be there overnight.

A St John spokesman said three patients had been taken to Timaru Hospital with minor injuries. They were checked for smoke inhalation.

SUPPLIED Emergency services are responding to a large ship fire at Timaru Port.

A police spokeswoman said emergency services were called to the fire about 9.25pm.

Police were there as "essentially a bit of crowd control on land", she said.

Soosie Lucas, who lives opposite the port, said there was a "loud bang" when the ship caught fire.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Fire crews battle to bring a fire under control on a fishing boat in the port of Timaru

"It boomed all around the port, it was a big loud bang."

Lucas said "very thick and dense" smoke was spewing from the ship when the fire started, but it had been dampened down by the rain.

There was a traffic jam forming from people coming down to look at the fire, Lucas said.

An eyewitness said there was "a heavy emergency services presence", with at least five fire trucks, a command unit, and three ambulance on scene.

She said a crowd of people were looking on from behind the fence, despite the cold and rainy night.

The Dong Won 701 is a South Korean fishing vessel which arrived in port on Monday morning, and was due to leave on Tuesday. It was one of the boats involved in an employment court action in 2014 for paying crew below the minimum wage.

Its owned by Korean fishing company Dong Won Fisheries. Its website said it has over $150 million USD annual revenue, operates a seafood processing plant in China, and a specialised seafood processing company in called San Won in Timarua [sic], New Zealand.</s>Fire crews are battling a blaze onboard a ship at the Timaru Port.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said 10 fire crews from Timaru and the surrounding area were fighting the fire.

Three people are being treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out on the ship they were onboard at Timaru Port.

Emergency services responded to the fire around 9.30pm.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said no one is now on the vessel and the fire is not at risk of spreading.</s>Fishing vessel sinks while docked on the Carenage
• An engine room leak forced crew of fishing vessel Tuna Kid to abandon ship on Saturday morning

An engine room leak forced a captain to abandon ship on Saturday morning while docked at the Carenage. The crew of fishing vessel Tuna Kid were alerted to something wrong with the vessel, as they were preparing for departure to sea. According to boat captain Acton Antoine, his efforts to save the boat from sinking proved futile, and he had to salvage some items before making his escape quickly.

“It seems that the baitwell sprang a leak and by the time I jumped down into the engine room to lock off the seacock it was too late. The boat began to take on more water, so I had to escape.”

Antione, better known as “Bow” said despite incurring losses estimated more than $30,000 he is grateful that he and his crew were not out at sea at the time of the incident. “I had $4,000 – $5,000 worth of items including food items, ice for the fish and diesel onboard now lost. I was able to salvage some equipment, but it is estimated that the cost to repair the damage is in excess of $30,000.”

The vessel remains submerged at the Carenage while the captain awaits assistance from the Royal Grenada Police Force. “Right now, Marshalls is coming to help us by lifting it out the water, and the fire truck is expected to pump out the water.”

While the cost of the likely damage weighs heavy on his mind, the captain hopes the vessel can be restored as soon as possible.</s>More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and a state of emergency has been declared in New Zealand's third largest city as wildfires threaten homes.
A fire breaks out on South Korean fishing vessel FV Dong Won 701 in the Port of Timaru, New Zealand. Ten fire crews and a tug are in attendance. At least three are hospitalised and the ship is evacuated.