The new Spirit of Tasmanian ferry recently built in Europe will soon be on its way to the Apple Isle … but grey nomads shouldn’t get too excited about the thought of it going into service any time soon!
The vessel is currently docked in Scotland and there had been ongoing discussions about it being leased out while facilities in Tassie were upgraded to be able to cope with it.
However, the State Government has now directed TT-Line to end existing lease negotiations and ‘continue preparations’ to relocate Spirit IV to Tasmania.
Transport Minister Eric Abetz said TT-Line had been ‘engaging with a broker in good faith’ but it had ‘become evident that an agreement will not be reached’.
The new TT-Line boat Spirit of Tasmania IV. PIC: Rauma Marine Constructions
He told the ABC that it would take some time for the vessel to get to Tasmania and that might not arrive until July.
The decision follows a report that Scotland was seeking to lease the brand new ship to house Ukrainian refugees, but the Scottish government has denied that that was the case.
The Mercury newspaper reports that Spirit IV has been berthed at Leith in Scotland since last November at an average weekly cost of $47,534 for the first month, and about $30,000 in subsequent months. This doesn’t include ancillary costs.
It is not yet clear where the new ferry will be kept in Tassie while the Berth 3 upgrade in Devonport is completed.
Spirit IV was originally meant to be transporting passengers and freight across Bass Strait by last year. But delays to infrastructure at the port of Devonport mean neither it, nor Spirit of Tasmania V which is still under construction in Finland, are expected to operate between Tasmania and Victoria until 2027.
Tassie’s opposition has dubbed the whole ‘ferry fiasco’ as the ‘biggest infrastructure stuff-up’ in the state’s history.
Labor Treasury spokesman, Josh Willie, said bringing the ferry back to Tasmania was the finally right decision.
“They can begin the local fit-out, the $100m that they promised for Tasmanian businesses,” he told the Mercury. “It’s exactly what they should have been doing from the start … it has been one stuff-up to the next and there seems to be no end in sight.”
The new Spirit of Tasmania ships are longer, wider and taller than their predecessors. The new ships will increase the annual passenger capacity on the Bass Strait route by almost 30%, the lane metres for passenger cars and freight by 60%, and the cabin capacity by approximately 35%, while the environmental impact of shipping will be significantly reduced.
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Been there done that, won’t be in a hurry to go back. LOL.
Too much to see on the big island. LOL.
Not worth the financial outlay to travel over there.
Getting over has never been an issue. It’s getting back to the mainland where problems arise for us motorhomers. All the locals are fighting to get off the island before the onset of winter.
We were advised last year in about January that we couldn’t get back until August. Hello, we love you Tassie…but not 6 months worth.
There is a legal term that gives recourse for a full refund. The term is, ‘Not fit for purpose’ I think it is one that aptly applies your current Tasmanian government. Can we please have a replacement!
Yep been going on for a while.
We will give it a miss too , they can’t get it right !