Logistics News

First of new Toll ships welcomed officially

Bigger, faster and cleaner sisterships set to enter Bass Strait service

 

Toll is less than two weeks away from pressing its newest ship into service on the Bass Strait trade, one of two replacing an ageing pair.

Prime minister Scott Morrison and Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman joined Toll chairman John Mullen and Japan Post first executive officer Taneki Ono at a at a special ceremony in Burnie to officially recognise Tasmania Achiever II, with another ceremony due to welcome sistership Victorian Reliance II at Webb Dock, Port Melbourne, on Sunday.

Toll dubs the 210-metre craft the largest general cargo ship to fly the Australian flag and the ship set to enter service on March 1, carrying goods between Melbourne and Burnie.


 Toll has been planning its Bass Strait shipping upgrade for years. Read more here.


Toll sees the ships as increasing Toll’s Bass Strait cargo capacity by more than 40 per cent on each voyage.

“As the country’s largest private investment in coastal trading in 25 years, this is a major milestone for Australian shipping with Tasmanian Achiever IIproviding capacity to meet anticipated demand for the next two decades,” Toll Tasmania and shipping executive general manager Steve Borg says.

“The Australian economy, and in particular Tasmania, will be the real winner with greater certainty around the timely transport of goods, providing opportunity for producers and manufacturers to increase output and provide more jobs.”

Toll highlights the lower environmental impacts of the new ships, noting that they comply with strict standards on sulphur emissions, due to be introduced next year by the International Marine Organisation (IMO2020), and that they feature on-board scrubbers that filter emissions.

In port, the new ships will connect to the local power grid, eliminating the need to generate power from its diesel engines.

“A new wharf management system and customer booking software will improve terminal operational procedures to minimise traffic congestion and enable better freight tracking and monitoring of refrigerated cargo,” Toll says.

“The new ships will make the 396 km Bass Strait crossing between Melbourne and Burnie in 13 hours, an hour faster than its predecessor and has capacity to carry 40 per cent more cargo, both in trucks or in containers.

“The time saved will be used in port to enable the simultaneous loading and unloading of additional cargo.”

The southern development comes as The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports that a Champ Ventures-led investment group that includes Toll is seeking to sell northern shipping and logistics firm Sea Swift for $300 million through Macquarie Capital.

 

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