Lochie Bellerby, aged in his late 20s, has been described by a former manager as an adventurous man.
Mr Bellerby, from Te Anau, was a shepherd at Tangihau Station in Gisborne in 2013, and a former manager remembers him as a "top bloke" and a hard worker.
‘‘He was very adventurous. He wanted to see the world,’’ he said.
It was a shock to hear Mr Bellerby had been on the ill-fated boat, he said.
Photos on Instagram showed Mr Bellerby in different locations around the world, atop mountains, hunting, riding a motorbike and working in Australia.
The search for 40 missing crew, including Mr Bellerby and fellow New Zealander Scott Harris, from the capsized cattle ship Gulf Livestock 1 was still suspended last night.
The ship was carrying 43 crew members and nearly 6000 cattle when it capsized five days ago, after leaving Napier on August 14.
Yesterday, Japan's coastguard said its search-and-rescue mission for the missing crew remained suspended with no timing set for resumption.
So far, two crew members have been rescued, while another died after being found unconscious on Friday.
The search was suspended due to bad weather on Saturday, when Typhoon Haishen was headed towards southwestern Japan.
Yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Winston Peters told the families of the missing New Zealanders Mfat had ‘‘done all we can do’’ and was engaging with its Japanese counterparts.
He said police had contacted the families, and they were being kept up to date.
In a statement, an Mfat spokesperson said the ministry acknowledged this was a stressful time for the families involved and it would continue to provide all possible assistance to them.
"They are being updated as soon as information comes to hand. However, there are still many unknown factors in this tragedy, and information is scarce."
- additional reporting RNZ
