The Nisshin Maru sent out a distress call before dawn, saying most of the crew had abandoned ship, with a few staying on board to fight the fire.

Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Corbett said it was not clear if the missing crewman, a 27-year-old Japanese national, was on the ship or had gone overboard into the icy waters of the Ross Sea.

The Nisshin Maru was part of a Japanese whaling fleet which has been hounded in Antarctic waters by the environmental group Sea Shepherd, as activists protested the fleet's plan to hunt some 850 minke whales and 10 fin whales.

The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986 but Japan has continued hunting for what it calls scientific research.

Earlier this week, a whaler and a protest ship collided.

But Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson said his vessels were well clear of the Nisshin Maru when the fire broke out.

"We haven't had contact with the vessel for about three days now and have been heading back to port because we are short of fuel," he told Sky News Australia.

"They are about 1,000 miles away from us now so all we got was a distress signal through New Zealand search and rescue."

A spokesman for Japan's Fisheries Agency confirmed that the fire and the protests were apparently unrelated, saying: "We have not seen any relations between the fire and the attacks by activists."

The fire was reportedly brought under control several hours after the distress call was made.

"The fire started in a processing room at the rear of the vessel. It spread quite quickly and became rather intense," Glenn Inwood, a spokesman for the Japanese whaling industry, told Radio New Zealand.

"We evacuated 120 crew, about 40 remained on board to deal with the fire and they did bring it under control after some time."

The missing crewman was identified as 27-year-old Kazutaka Makita, the Fisheries Agency spokesman said.

There were no deaths or injuries among the rest of the crew, and the ship remained afloat.

"There is no fear of sinking as the fire is coming under control," the Japanese spokesman said.

New Zealand's Environment Minister Chris Carter said concerns remained over the potential for environmental damage.

"We are also gravely concerned about the risk to Antarctica's pristine environment if the ship is sufficiently damaged to begin leaking oil," he said.

"We are working on contingencies to deal with this scenario at present."

Rescue officials were unable to confirm reports of an explosion before the fire.

A ship from the environmental group Greenpeace which was in the area answered the mayday call, but was stood down by the New Zealand rescue coordination centre as other ships were closer.

Weather and sea conditions in the Ross Sea were good with no swell and light winds.

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