New Spirit ferry moved to Geelong amid infrastructure delays

ONE of the Spirit of Tasmania’s newest ferries has been moved to Geelong for storage as infrastructure issues prevent it from being brought into service.

Earlier today (Sunday, October 19), the Spirit of Tasmania IV came through the heads of Port Phillip Bay for the first time on its scheduled trip to GeelongPort.

The 212m, 48,000-gross-tonne vessel, constructed in Finland, arrived on Hobart on August 23 for its final fit-out.

However, both the Spirit of Tasmania IV and Spirit of Tasmania V (which remains in Finland) are not expected to start operations between Geelong and Devonport until late 2026, years behind schedule, when a delayed berth in the northern Tasmanian city is completed.

Ferry operator TT-Line had not responded to inquiries about the Spirit of Tasmania IV’s berthing in Geelong at time of publication.

Spirit of Tasmania IV cost the Tasmanian government $6.4 million to berth it in Scotland.

Costs for the berth at Devonport have blown out from $90 million to $493 million.

The saga around the berth delay resulted in Michael Ferguson resigning as Tasmania’s deputy premier and infrastructure minister and moving to the backbench in October 2024.

A “recovery team” tasked with getting the ships’ delivery back on track recently said it was upgrading hull specifications to further prepare for rare or extreme weather or power failure.

Tasmanian Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent said TT-Line, which is owned by the Tasmania government, had not yet determined the extent and cost of the upgrades.

TT-Line was double checking all calculations made in the design of the ships as part of the process, Mr Vincent said last month.

A TT-Line spokesperson said the “recovery team” had identified the need for minor hull upgrades to further prepare for rare or extreme weather events or power failure.

“There is an extremely low risk of a rare event occurring.

“Any modifications required will be completed within the current budget and will have no impact on the commencement of service date.”

 – WITH AAP