KiwiRail says higher than usual freight and passenger numbers are leading to delays on Interislander ferries.
But the ferry provider said it expected services to return to schedule by the weekend.
The Interislander website showed delays of up to three hours and 45 minutes for ferries departing during daylight hours over the past two days.
Night-time sailings appeared less affected, averaging over three-quarters of an hour late during the same period.
Further delays were expected to continue on Thursday.
The hold-ups came as Bluebridge’s Connemara ferry returned to service last night after being sidelined for nearly 11 days following a technical fault.
Many passengers and freight services affected by the ship’s failure were forced to rebook aboard Interislander services.
Interislander’s Taru Sawhney said large passenger and freight numbers – stemming from the cancellations – were slowing their ferries turn-around times in port.
“If any sailings do run late, impacted customers are contacted directly and kept informed.
“We typically see a drop-off in freight volumes over Easter, which means lighter vehicle deck loads. We expect the fleet to be on time by the weekend.”
