The Tasmanian government has announced the safe arrival of Spirit of Tasmania IV to the Scottish dock of Leith, where it will be stored for at least the next month.
Spirit IV must be docked in the Scottish port due to the failure to complete necessary infrastructure upgrades to Devonport in time for the ship’s arrival. Currently, those upgrades are expected to be completed by late 2026 at the earliest.
Operator TT-Line has secured a berth at Leith for a minimum of 30 days at an average weekly cost of A$47,534, plus ancillary services while it expedites work to identify potential leasing or chartering options.
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Minister for Transport Eric Abetz says storing the ship in Leith will be cheaper than storing it in Tasmania for the foreseeable future.
“It is prudent to relocate the ship to Leith whilst leasing options are being explored,” Abetz says.
“To have it relocated to Tasmania whilst these options are being explored would be far more expensive and waste a significant amount of taxpayer money.”
Abetz also says the average weekly cost is significantly less than what has been reported by the state opposition.
“I would note that this figure is significantly – seven times – less than the $280,000 peddled by the Leader of the Opposition, Dean Winter.”
The ancillary services that are not included in the weekly cost reported by Abetz and the state government include shore power, dockyard labour and pilotage services.
As part of the ship’s journey from Rauma, Finland to Leith, pre-planned sea trials were conducted with a surveyor on board to test the vessel’s systems, performance and capabilities under real-world conditions.
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