A ship berthed at the Port of Tauranga is being ordered to cease operations while Maritime New Zealand officials investigate its part in a collision with a fishing vessel yesterday.

The cargo ship Samjin berthed at the port around 6.20am today and has since been ordered to cease operations and remain in port.

Maritime New Zealand officials have ordered the cargo ship ‘Samjin' to cease operations as they investigate whether it hit a fishing boat yesterday morning.

It is believed the ship was involved in a collision with fishing boat ‘The Commission' which was hit about 13 miles off the East Cape north of Gisborne around 3am Monday.

Maritime NZ spokesperson Steve Rendle says officials are travelling from Wellington today to begin an investigation.

'The ship has been told to cease operations until the investigation has been carried out. They will be looking at the boat and talking to the skippers.”

The Samjin is scheduled to depart the Port at 3.30pm tomorrow, but Steve says the ship will not be leaving the port for quite some time.

'It won't be operating until we finish our investigations. We have ordered them to stop all activities and that includes unloading the ship.

'There is an element of delay in that for them.”

The ship carrying logs berthed in the Port after sailing from Port Chalmers in Dunedin.

Although the Samjin is being investigated, Steve says it is very early in the investigation and is not ruling out other ships, which may have been in the area at the time.

'The AIS tracking is being looked at and the Samjin is one being looked at.

'I guess it depends what was found on the Samjin as we are not making any assumptions.”

‘The Commission' is in radio contact with Maritime New Zealand and is currently being towed by another fishing boat.

It is expected to arrive in Tauranga within the next 24 hours.