Interislander ship Aratere has been out of action since earlier this month, after the ship’s gearbox broke down.
The repairs are expected to take up to four weeks to complete, as heavy engineering work is required.
Aratere is the only ship owned by Interislander with a rail deck for moving freight across Cook Strait.
KiwiRail executive general manager Walter Rushbrook said it had been able to minimise disruption.
Rail freight was continuing to be carried on the other two Interislander ferries. Container freight was being transferred to trailers and trucked on to the ferries, Mr Rushbrook said.
Kaitaki had been scheduled to come out of service for regular maintenance, but that was postponed until Aratere resumed sailing.
Work on Aratere was progressing well.
‘‘The repairs are being carried out in Wellington and there is no need for the ship to be dry-docked.
‘‘We are also taking the opportunity to carry out other scheduled maintenance on Aratere, which would otherwise have been done later in the year.’’
Aratere was scheduled to travel to dry dock in Sydney in September for routine maintenance work and maritime regulatory checks, which would proceed, subject to changes in the Covid-19 situation, Mr Rushbrook said.
Aratere is scheduled to resume sailing early next month.
