The government of New Zealand described the incident as "very worrying" on Saturday. Although 47 passengers were unable to leave the vessel, they had to stay aboard.

The Interislander Aratere, operated by the state-owned company KiwiRail and located on the North Coast of the South Island, ran aground near Picton.

In a New Zealand Herald press conference, Transport Minister Simeon brown said: "It is great that there were no fatalities and everyone aboard was safe."

"That's the number one priority."

The site reported that 47 people slept on the ferry when it ran aground shortly after 10 pm.

Refloating the ferry is planned for Saturday evening. It's part of a fleet of vessels that connect Wellington, the capital city, with Picton.

Brown posted a message on X Friday denying the possibility of oil contamination, stating that an investigation had been initiated into the "very worrying" incident.

KiwiRail claims that the fleet ferrys nearly 800,000 people across the Cook Strait on 4,000 trips a year. (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez in Sydney, Sam McKeith from Sydney)