A ferry servicing the Cook Strait between New Zealand's North and South Islands has run aground in a late-night accident.
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The Aratere ship, part of the state-owned Interislander fleet, veered into a cliff-face just north of its departure harbour of Picton about 9.45pm on Friday.
Peter Reidy, chief executive of owner Kiwirail, said the Aratere nestled into sand - rather than rocks - at around three knots.
An unnamed truck driver aboard told news outlet Stuff the crash was "as gentle as could be".
Interislander general manager Duncan Roy said there were no injuries and the vessel remained watertight.
Mr Roy blamed a "steering failure" for the accident, with navigation websites showing the Aratere turning gradually into the coast rather than heading straight into the Marlborough Sounds, bound for Wellington.
"It was a freight-only sailing with eight commercial vehicle drivers and 39 crew on board," he said.
"The Picton Harbour Master is on board and we are working with him to move the vessel back to Picton."
The 47 crew and drivers spent the night on board the vessel, which has power and supplies.
Plans to refloat the ship at high tide at about 9.330am on Saturday were abandoned with a fresh effort to take place at the next high water mark after nightfall.
Eight passengers and 12 crew disembarked on Saturday morning.
The debacle is the latest in a string of problems for the Interislanders, once a much-loved Kiwi instutition but now synonymous with blunders.
The Aratere is a $NZ106 million ($A98 million) Spanish-built ship dubbed "El Lemon" due to its many issues.
Both the Aratere and sister ship Kaitaiki lost power on sailings in 2023.
In a dangerous January 2023 incident, Kaitaki crew declared mayday and handed out life jackets with 864 people on board as it drifted towards the south coast of North Island in high winds.
Tugboats escorted the ferry to Wellington when power was restored, with a review finding Kiwirail had not followed suggested maintenance.
In November, another Interislander - the Kaiarahi - was out of action for some time after striking a Wellington wharf, leaving it with a hole in the hull.
Management and replacement of the ships was already a contested political issue prior to the accident.
The previous Labour-led government hoped to replace the fleet with rail-enabled new ferries and wharves, but the coalition government axed the project after coming to office last year, citing major cost blowouts.
Mr Reidy and Transport Minister Simeon Brown both flagged an investigation once the ship had been rescued.
This week, Mr Brown told a parliamentary select committee the government had been "highly unimpressed" with Kiwirail's maintenance efforts of the ships.
The route is a key link between NZ's two biggest islands, considered part of state highway one, with several sailings each day between Wellington and Picton.
Peak group Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Interim chief executive Dom Kalasih said Kiwirail was lucky to avoid injuries.
"Apart from the threat to people's lives, these sorts of breakdowns disrupt freight shipments between the islands ... we just can't have these sorts of disruptions," he said.
"The Interislander fleet has had longstanding and persistent maintenance issues, and this is simply the latest, worrying development."
Kiwirail's Interislander vessels run almost 4000 services a year, carrying more than 800,000 passengers, 250,000 cars and over $NZ15 billion ($A14 billion) worth of freight.
The route is also serviced by private operators Bluebridge.
Australian Associated Press
