New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) is checking if any New Zealanders are on board the Italian cruise ship that has hit a reef.
Three people are dead and dozens are missing after the Costa Concordia hit a reef near Isola del Giglio late on Friday night (local time).
At this stage there is no indication that there are any New Zealanders on board and the post in Rome is checking, a spokeswoman for MFAT says.
Cruises on the vessel are marketed in New Zealand.
Two Australians remain unaccounted for and 21 made it to safety, according to Australian foreign affairs officials today.
Most of the 3200 passengers and 1000 crew members were quickly evacuated, but coast guards struggled to rescue around 200 people stuck on board.
The Costa Crociera company, which owns the vessel, said that it was not yet possible to say what caused the problem, but that the evacuation had been fast.
"The ship was on a cruise in the Mediterranean, leaving from Savona with planned stops in Civitavecchia, Palermo, Cagliari, Palma, Barcelona and Marseille," the company said.
"There were around 1000 Italian passengers on board, as well as 500 Germans and around 160 French people," it added, without giving details about the rest.
The cruise ship, which boasts 58 suites with balconies, five restaurants, 13 bars, five Jacuzzis and four swimming pools, had set off from the Civitavecchia port near Rome earlier on Friday when it ran into difficulties.
NZN