The 20-year-old from the village of Noga, near Rabaul, was fishing alone for tuna between two islands when a change in wind and currents swept his boat out to sea.

Last night, he and the crew of the ANL Wangaratta berthed at Melbourne's docks, where Mr Jor will spend the next two days before the container ship leaves for Sydney, where he will fly back home to his family in PNG.

''It's strange [here]. I've never been to a city like this because I've grown up in a village,'' Mr Jor said last night from on board the ship, surrounded by the bright lights of Melbourne.

The young fisherman feared he would die at sea after several boats passed by without spotting him, despite his frantic waving. But a break in the rain and a burst of sunshine was enough for him to be detected by the crew of the Wangaratta. He had been sleeping under a blanket of banana leaves, huddling from the heavy rain, before the ship came into view.

His ordeal ended on Thursday when he was rescued by the Wangaratta en route from China to Melbourne with a cargo of electrical goods. He was about 50 nautical miles from the coast when he was sighted by crew members from the deck of the Wangaratta.

''I'd like to the thank them for what they have done for me and I thank God for them. I'm very pleased they saved my life,'' he said.

Mr Jor's parents still have no idea of his fate and he has no phone number to reach them on. PNG officials hope Mr Jor could be united with his family by the weekend.

Stephen Allaker, captain of the Wangaratta, said when Mr Jor was first seen, there were fears he might not have been alone.

''We were initially concerned that we could only see a lone person, but he assured us he had been on his own throughout.''

The rescue had been a tricky operation that involved turning the fully laden container ship about and then manoeuvring it to within 40 metres of Mr Jor's boat, which had capsized. A lifebuoy attached to a rope was tossed to the young man.