The Lady of the Lake was taken off duty from yesterday, and will be temporarily replaced by two Fiordlander class vessels while the scheduled work is carried out.
Acting chief executive for RealNZ, which operates the coal-fired steamship, Paul Norris said it was just "business as usual" and Earnslaw would be back operating on June 26, in time for school holidays.
He added there was nothing special or extra about this year’s round of works — "just the annual standard system checks ... There’ll be a few tidy-up jobs but we’re not doing ... a step change".
Mr Norris said the temporary replacements were Explorer, which usually operated on Lake Wakatipu anyway, and Fiordlander Two from Lake Manapouri.
The maintenance gave the tourism giant a "high level of confidence" the boat would get through the next 11 months of operation, he said.
