The trip across to Tasmania for mainland-based grey nomads will be getting substantially easier next year when two new ships are due to be put into service.
TT-Line has released a new video which shows just how much more capacity the incoming vessels will offer.
Currently under constriction in Finland, the ships – Spirit of Tasmania IV and V – will have an increased capacity for passengers from 1400 to 1800, and the number of cabins will increase from 222 to 301.
However, perhaps the most significant difference is the 59.8% increase in vehicle lanes for passengers and freight vehicles. Unlike the current ships, all vehicle lanes will have extra height and will fit caravans and campervans.
The new vessels will have significantly increased capacity. PIC: TT-Line
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson, said it was exciting to see just how much larger the new ships will be than the current ships.
“The new vessels will have a much greater capacity for passengers, passenger vehicles, and freight, he said. “Demand for our service remains high and is continuing to grow … these new vessels will go a long way to meeting the needs.”
TT-Line Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Bernard Dwyer said the new ships would be a game changer for Tasmania. He said the increased size of the vessels was impressive and would allow the company to accommodate many more passengers and vehicles on every journey.
“We’re incredibly excited about these new ships and not just about the increased size but also the quality and design of the build and the new amenities that we’ll have on board for passengers to enjoy,” he said.
The first of the new vessels is expected to be operating across the Bass Strait by early July next year, and the second by the end of the year. The two existing vessels will be sold once both new ships were in operation,
Last year, the Spirit of Tasmania moved its mainland base from Melbourne to a a state-of-the-art facility in Geelong, a change which has been warmly welcomed by most grey nomads.
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Larger vessels are well overdue but I bet it will still be super expensive to travel on the Spirit. It now costs more in not only fares but the additional time and cost of travelling to Geelong which adds another 1 – 1 1/2 hours to the trip. Given it’s supposed to be our national highway, it should be free or the same price as travelling the equivalent distance by road. Once again Tasmanian’s are being held to ransom (as are visitors) not to mention being given a raw deal with overpriced goods and services. Fuel is on average 15 – 20 cpl more expensive than on the mainland. Why? It doesn’t cost that much extra to get it there. Just another Tassie Tax.
Agree totally – it should be free or at least heavily subsidised so we retirees can afford the trip and would love to spend 2-3 months there, but simply can’t afford it at present.
Oh the complaining! Should be free… well who do you want to pay for it then? The Government? And where do they get their money from? The taxpayer. So you want me to subsidise your trip to Tassie or mainland with my taxes. Sorry, user pays.
Should be free to all Tasmania residents The others pay for there trip.
Not sure I agree, but am sure it could be more cost effective in the longer term for both visitors and locals alike!
A monopoly that does not have to provide competitive prices, is not ok, so most of us will disagree.p with your comments. The value of mainland visitors to Tassie, especially staying for a few months, completely outways the crossing costs formour states overall economy and value for the longer term.
Check the tickets. The journey is already heavily subsidised by the government which makes very acceptable prices. It’s well worth it and have travelled from Geelong and find it much better than going from Melbourne.
One of the problems is that if a vehicle or van exceeds I think 2.1 m in height, or some other length or vehicle power (eg F250 is classified as a truck, but actually just a towing vehicle for larger vans) it is not subsidised and also doesn’t fit in many of the travel bays, so can’t get booked onto the system.
Hopefully this will be fixed in the new vessel, but only if they run to suit the demand, rather than maximise the profit around full ships (and minimal disappointed customers) failing badly at the moment with respect to customer service and respect for the Spirit.
There is capacity even now, the vessels only run when full, so often only one of the two ship on the Bass Strait route per each 24 hours.
The Tassie Govt should force them to cater for all the missed tourist trade, as well as Tasmanian wanting to get home or to the mainland, a monopoly like this, should not be allowed to control us!
Good news and hopefully with much more capacity for high vehicles the cost might come down a bit for caravans and boats.
The cost is prohibitive now, so I expect it to get worse
As pensioners we would love to go to Tassie with our caravan but the cost is way to much so we stay on the mainland. There are many like us who just can’t afford the cost and we do not have a large car or van.
This will mean a huge increase in visitors requiring campsites. One of the benefits in Tassie was the number of free bush campsites. Hope the State gov is anticipating this and finding some more sites for us to enjoy. Not everyone wants to be in a van site and these will fill up quickly with bookings Tassie is the best place for wandering and not having to book ahead, just as the whim takes us. Hope this doesn’t have to change. Love Tassie.
So the super-entitled not only want free transport to tassie, but demand guaranteed free camping as well.
Yes I agree that the new vessels will be a great addition but unfortunately they are just too expensive when you look at the cost to fly from say Syd then hire a car for say 5 days and its not even close to the cost of using the vessels so this they need to address
Will there be dog friendly areas where your dog can be with you