Disruptions to Cook Strait ferry service due to engineering fault

Bluebridge Ferries will be removing one of its ferries from service for the next week. Photo / File

Travellers looking to sail from Wellington and Picton may be out of luck due to an engineering fault with one of Bluebridge's ferries.

The Cook Strait ferry service has announced that it will be removing one of its ferries from service for the remainder of the week, from this evening, to undergo unscheduled repairs.

The vessel affected is believed to be the Strait Feronia.

The action is expected to cause major disruptions to the ferry service, with today's sailings currently all showing to be sold out on the company's website.

StraitNZ general manager of commercial Ed Menzies said a fault with one of the gearboxes on one of the Bluebridge ferries will take the ship out of service while it is repaired.

"It is a hugely inconvenient time of year for this type of fault to occur and we are doing everything we can to re-accommodate our freight customers and passengers as quickly as possible," he said.

Menzies said as many customers as possible are being rescheduled on to alternative sailings and anyone that wants a refund will receive one.

"We do understand some of our customer's holiday plans have been affected and we apologise for this but unfortunately, with large vessels, sometimes this type of engineering issue can occur," he said.

KiwiRail's Interislander ferry service is running as scheduled.