Looking down onto the aft deck Lady Elizabeth IV. Photo:
Wellington police launch Lady Elizabeth IV is currently out of service with a mechanical fault.
Police said the fault was discovered during planned maintenance on the seawater cooling system, and required parts to be imported from Europe.
Sergeant Craig Pickering from Wellington Maritime Police said their parts and service agent was tracking the shipment, and has committed to having 'Lady Liz' running by mid-March.
"Taking one of our vessels out of service for this period of time is not ideal, but was balanced against the safety of the crew and the service we continue to provide with our other vessels, including the recent addition, rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) Hukatai."
Pickering said police have been communicating with their marine SAR partners in Wellington to ensure that there is rescue vessel coverage available in their area of operations.
Lady Elizabeth is not the only iconic Wellington boat suffering from mechanical issues. Both the Interislander and Bluebridge ferries were reduced to just one vessel on Tuesday.
Bluebridge's new Connemara vessel was undergoing sea trials on Wednesday morning after it suffered engine trouble on Friday, and is expected to be reinstated Wednesday afternoon.
KiwiRail said the Kairahi Interislander, which stopped sailing on Monday because of an engineering fault, will depart Wellington at 4.30pm Wednesday.
Meanwhile, its Kaitaki ferry continues to be freight-only after it had to call mayday last month when its engines stopped.