Port Marlborough has been forced to close following a chemical spill.

Fire and Emergency crews were called to the port at 2.20AM to help with the cleanup.

An Interislander passenger told Chris Lynch Media he was stuck in Wellington and had been delayed by four hours because of the closure.

Fire and Emergency shift manager Jill Higgison said crews from Nelson and Picton were called to the incident.

She said it wasn’t a large chemical spill, but crews were still at the site at 7.30AM.

A command unit was sent to the scene from Nelson.

And absorbent was used to clean up the spill, while crews were being decontaminated.

It was expected that the port would reopen this morning.