Richard Hiraman Jeet, 66, and Claude Norman Mitchell, 67, were the two men who died after a boat sank in Bluff Harbour on Friday, police say.
Emergency services were called at 12.20pm on Friday with police, Coastguard and ambulance staff responding to the incident in the waters between Bluff Port and Tiwai Wharf in Southland.
Following the incident, two other people were in hospital in a stable condition.
Police said they extended their sympathies to the men's loved ones.
An investigation by police and Maritime New Zealand into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing.