Spirit of Tasmania to move to Geelong

THE Spirit of Tasmania is getting a new home in Victoria, with TT-Line Company moving its port operations for the ferry from Station Pier in Port Melbourne, to Geelong’s Corio Quay in 2022.

TT-Line says setting sail from Geelong will give Spirit of Tasmania the best opportunity to get bigger and better, not just for passengers but also for freight.

The new 12-hectare site will include a purpose designed passenger terminal building, a passenger vehicle marshalling area for 600 cars, more efficient passenger vehicle check in, security facilities, public amenities, a cafe, children’s play area and a pet exercise area.

The project is expected to create up to 75 construction jobs over the two-year build program and increase tourism expenditure in the greater Geelong region by up to $175 million by 2029.

TT-Line chair Michael Grainger said the move to Geelong provided the company with a unique opportunity to enhance the passenger experience and provide room to expand its freight offering in line with demand for many years to come.

“The company’s operations are often negatively impacted by significant congestion in the greater Port Melbourne area, particularly when cruise ships are in port, that causes delays in loading and discharge of passengers.

“Further, it is our view that these issues will only worsen in the future.

“Passenger feedback on this part of our operations has been critical, with passengers citing boarding queues of up to two-and-a-half-hours, which in turn impacts the sailing schedule.

“It has had an increasingly negative impact on our ability to deliver the level of service required for efficient operations, and highlighted further potential issues with TT-Line’s new Spirit of Tasmania vessels coming on line and construction of associated infrastructure.”

Mr Grainger said Independent research of passengers identified three key elements that supported a move to Geelong – a location that was easy to get to, ease of check-in procedures and a lack of traffic getting to and from the terminal.

“The Corio Quay solution ticks those three boxes and alleviates all of the current operational constraints that exist at Station Pier,” he said.

“A new port base at Geelong is also expected to lead to increased passenger growth that would benefit the Tasmanian tourism industry from secondary markets of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, as well as increased passenger growth from regional Victoria.”

Mr Grainger said the company would maintain its “last to leave, first to arrive” freight service.

“The new Geelong facility will feature a dedicated freight terminal, streamlined and segregated passenger and freight entry and exit points, 150 truck parking bays and a 24/7 secure freight yard.

“The new freight yard will enable cargo pick up and drop off at any time, day or night, with access to heavy transport approved roads.

“This will alleviate the current freight constraints of Station Pier, which requires freight to be collected immediately on discharge.

“The new facility will be located 40 minutes from 80 per cent of our Victorian-based freight customers and 55 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD.”

Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson said the announcement was incredibly exciting news.

“This project is also an important investment for Geelong and regional Victoria with nearly half a million ‘spirited’ passengers sailing each year on the ship.

“It will provide very important employment and tourism benefits for south west Victoria as well as the Geelong and Great Ocean Road regions.

“Given we are enduring the coronavirus pandemic, this news could not come at a better time.  It provides Geelong and our region with an incredible confidence boost as we start to plan our economic revival.”