The Interislander's temporary ferry Stena Alegra will be out of action until early next week while the boat's damaged propeller is temporarily fixed.
It hasn't sailed for three days and today KiwiRail has said it won't be back on the water this weekend.
"Over the weekend the propeller will be rebalanced by removing the propeller tip on the opposite blade of the damaged one. This is a common solution to this issue," a KiwiRail spokeswoman said.
"Once this work has been completed and sea trials undertaken, if all parties are satisfied with the ship's performance, we anticipate the Stena Alegra will be back in operation early next week."
The spokeswoman said the ship's owners, Rina, had agreed to the "temporary and safe" fix that would allow it to go back into service.
Permanent repairs will be made when the Stena Alegra finishes its New Zealand stint in three months.
It was brought in to replace the Aratere after it lost a propeller during a Cook Straight crossing last year.
Meantime passengers and freight are being transferred to other sailings and the Kaitaki will make extra crossing this weekend.
KiwiRail is advising passengers to check the Interislander website timetable.
