The new vessels are 212m long, meaning they can’t safely use existing berthing facilities in Devonport. Spirit of Tasmania IV. Photo: TT Line.
The first of two new ferries designed to cross Bass Strait between Tasmania and the mainland will be brought home to Tasmania after failing to find a lessee.
The Spirit of Tasmania IV and V have been built in Finland, with the IV being launched in 2023 and handed over last September.
But after delays and cost blowouts in the build of the vessels, it was subsequently found that existing berthing facilities at East Devonport currently used by the Spirit of Tasmania fleet are unsuitable for the newer and larger 212m-long (695ft) vessels.
Originally the new terminal at Devonport’s Berth 3 East was expected to be complete in August 2024, ahead of the already delayed first ship’s arrival. But a contract failure for the berths resulted in a 400 per cent cost increase, prompting the State Government to propose a temporary terminal at operator TT Line’s existing Berth 1 East.
But that idea was also rejected due to cost and added safety risks, forcing the State Government to add another year to the expected completion date to early 2027.
The delays and cost blowouts led to the Chair of TT Line Michael Grainger resigning last August.
In a brief statement on 14 August 2024, Minister for Transport Eric Abetz and Treasurer Michael Ferguson said the government had requested and accepted Mr Grainger’s resignation, saying: “It has become clear the relationship between the government and the chair has become untenable”.
In lieu of new berthing facilities being completed, the Tasmanian Government decided to try to lease out the Spirit of Tasmania IV for a two year period until 2027.
The vessel was moved to Scotland last northern autumn to avoid being damaged by pack ice in the Finnish port, and negotiations have been ongoing with a potential lessee to keep the vessel occupied and to offset any docking fees which had amounted to some $47,534 per week with the Forth Ports authority near Edinburgh.
But in a statement on 2 March, Tasmania’s Minister for Transport Eric Abetz instructed owner TT-Line to cease negotiations and to relocate the vessel to Tasmania.
“We had an opportunity to secure an agreement worth tens of millions of dollars for the Tasmanian taxpayer, and it would have been economically irresponsible not to explore this,” he said.
“Previous similar leases provided more than 50 million euros to vessel owners, and it was prudent that we sought similar arrangements for Tasmanian taxpayers.”
Mr Abetz went on the blame the Labor opposition for its negative commentary on the delays to the vessels’ delivery for the lease failure.
“Sadly, Labor’s negativity surrounding the matter has not helped and disparaging commentary has harmed the State’s economic interests,” he said.
“The relentless negativity is hurting the state’s economic opportunities, and it’s time to move forward together.”
In response to Mr Abetz’s claims, Shadow Treasurer Josh Willis said the government’s backflip in bringing the vessel home comes at least four months – and millions of taxpayer dollars – late.
“Spirit IV has now spent three months in hiding in Scotland, at a cost to Tasmanians of close to $2 million,” he said.
“The Liberals have engaged not one, but two brokers, and we still don’t know the cost of those. Throughout this sorry saga everyone could see that leasing the ship wasn’t going to happen, including TT-Line, which told Parliament it was very unlikely.
“This didn’t stop the Liberals maintaining their charade at great expense to the Tasmanian taxpayer so they could try and save face,” he added.
“The ferry fiasco has been the biggest infrastructure stuff-up in Tasmania’s history, but the cover-up has been even worse than the crime.”
