Kiwis have reacted wildly on social media to news of the grounding of Interislander's Aratere ferry on Friday night.
The ship ran aground on mud and sand in Tītoki Bay, about 3km north of Picton/Waitohi, after it had trouble with its steering.
One local man checking out the view on Saturday morning told Newshub the ageing fleet is "not going to last forever are they?"
"Goes to show maybe they should've bought those new ferries, aye?"
He said his brother is a fisherman, and the Aratere grounding popped up on Facebook, "so everyone's come to have a look!"
Kiwis are already sharing memes - one referencing iconic disaster film Titanic.
Comedian Te Radar also posted a photo to X, showing a close-up of the Aratere aground.
"We are all the Aratere now," he jokingly captioned the photo.
And Daren Watson said "don't worry the free market and some second hand Corollas will do the trick".
Watson's comment was referencing how Finance Minister Nicola Willis said earlier this year KiwiRail should find a "Toyota Corolla option" as opposed to the "Rolls Royce option" for new ferries.
Political blogger David Farrar saw the problem through a different lens, saying private ferry company Bluebridge has managed eight different ferries since 1992.
"They managed to replace and renew them successfully before they break down, and have done it without costing taxpayers a cent. Maybe we should sell Interislander to a private owner?" he said.
On one local Facebook page, one man commented: "If only they had new boats on order."
"Lucky it happened there and not in the strait," another said.
"The interislander is past its used by date for sure," a third added.
"Both Labour and National have let our countries infrastructure run down to where it’s collapsing," said a fourth.
Meanwhile, others saw it as a positive for local businesses, with all the sightseers in town trying to get a view.
"Great for Picton's economy. Cafes will be humming," they said.
