Picton in the Marlborough Sounds may yet lose Toll Holdings' Cook Strait ferry business to Clifford Bay on the Pacific coast.
The Australian company, which took control of Tranz Rail last year, is refurbishing the Arahura ferry and sprucing up existing terminals.
But that doesn't mean Toll has committed tothe current route.
"Everyone jumped at shadows and said that means everything else is off the drawing board," said Toll managing director Paul Little.
"Nothing is off the drawing board," he said.
Medium and longer-term plans were still being considered.
Port Marlborough has commissioned concept plans for a dedicated terminal in Picton for rival Strait Shipping, in part because it could be crowded out of existing facilities by Toll's plans.
Port chief Sean Bolt said it was time to treat Strait Shipping a little bit better.
The configuration of the Toll fleet could mean a complete redesign of the existing Picton terminal or rebuilding some of the wharf structures, he said.
Toll's long-term needs at Picton depend on the configuration of its fleet and that in turn depends on, among other things, operating rules in the sounds.
Currently the conventional ferries only just get three turnarounds in a 24-hour period travelling at just over 20 knots in the Sounds.
The speed of fast ferries like the Lynx was reduced to 18 knots by local bylaw after waves damaged jetties and foreshores.
The Marlborough District Council is shifting regulation from bylaws to a plan under the Resource Management Act covering all large vessels. The plan suggests consents and speed monitoring above 15 knots.
Little said that anything affecting vessel speed, whether it was speed restrictions or bad weather, was an issue for the operator because of the tight turnaround.
Tranz Rail had proposed shifting its South Island terminal to Clifford Bay to reduce the time of the journey to Christchurch and get around speed restrictions.
Little said nothing would happen on that for a couple of years.
He said any new conventional vessels would have a rail capacity as the best way to turn them around quickly was to run trains on board.
