Meretoto / Ship Cove is a small bay in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. It is located near the entrance of Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui, west of nearby Motuara Island and Long Island. Explorer James Cook anchored his ships here and hence named it Ship Cove; however, in 2014 the official name was altered to "Meretoto / Ship Cove", to refle…Meretoto / Ship Cove is a small bay in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. It is located near the entrance of Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui, west of nearby Motuara Island and Long Island. Explorer James Cook anchored his ships here and hence named it Ship Cove; however, in 2014 the official name was altered to "Meretoto / Ship Cove", to reflect its original Māori name. While Ship Cove is a descriptive name, little is known about the origin of the name Meretoto. One possible translation is "bloody mere".