Marlborough Sounds boat blaze: 15m boat gutted after fire in Queen Charlotte Sound

A boat has been destroyed after it went up in flames in the Marlborough Sounds.

Fire and Emergency were called to the blaze around 11.10am on Tuesday, after reports that the 15m boat had caught alight in the northern reaches of Queen Charlotte Sound.

The boat had grounded, meaning it was prevented from sinking.

Coastguard Marlborough said crews dropped everything and headed for base when the siren from the Picton Volunteer Fire Brigade sounded across town.

The boat was destroyed in the blaze.

Pumps, hoses and gear were loaded onboard Bluebridge Rescue before they pushed through the water at 45 knots toward the smoke.

Twenty-five minutes later, when the Coastguard and Fire and Emergency arrived on the scene, the battle to extinguish the blaze began.

The vessel had already been abandoned, with the owner evacuating the vessel into an inflatable dinghy before being safely picked up by the Marlborough Harbours team.

Fire and Emergency and Coastguard NZ at the scene of the blaze.

Flames, smoke and steam poured from the launch as teams worked for nearly an hour to bring the fire under control.

The heat was so intense that it scorched the surrounding trees along the shoreline.

Intense heat from the fire left the trees along the shoreline scorched.

Despite every effort, the vessel could not be saved.

After fire crews worked to extinguish the fire, the vessel was left in the hands of the harbour master.

There were no reported injuries.