The Spirit of Tasmania IV will not be leased while port infrastructure at Devonport continues to be renovated according to Minister for Transport Eric Abetz, who says plans will now proceed to relocate the vessel to Tasmania.
Since finishing construction in Finland, the 212-metre (659ft) vessel has been housed in Scotland due to continued delays in upgrading its berth at Devonport to accommodate the larger ship.
Works were initially meant to be completed in August 2024, however, may now remain ongoing until late 2026 at the earliest.
The decision to bring the ship back to Tasmania has come after unfounded reports of the Scottish government wanting to use the ship to house refugees, however these were quickly denied.
“This is not true, and we have no plans to lease this or any other vessel for this purpose,” the Scottish government said.
The decision to finish the exploration of leasing opportunities in Europe means the ship will head to Australia for the first time, where it will likely not be able to be pushed into service on the Bass Strait for up to two years.
Abetz says the decision to explore leasing opportunities were “prudent” in order to make some money back on the vessel before it could be put to use in Australia.
“We have always acted in the best interests of the Tasmanian taxpayer,” Abetz says.
“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.
“Previous similar leases provided more than 50 million euros to the vessel owners, and it was prudent we sought similar arrangements for the Tasmanian taxpayer.”
The introduction of the Spirit of Tasmania IV and V to the TT-Line fleet is set to offer huge advantages to the state’s economic abilities, with huge increases in freight and vehicle transport capacity to further expand Tasmania’s transport capabilities to and from the mainland.
The inability to complete the Devonport upgrades on time and on budget has been labelled “the biggest infrastructure stuff-up in Australian history” by the state opposition.
The cost of upgrading the berth has quadrupled from an initial estimate of $90 million, while the cost of building the Spirit IV and Spirit V has ballooned by almost an added $100 million since 2021.
TT-Line was also paying $47,534 a week to store the ships at Leith.
Abetz says the continuing negativity surrounding the vessels is hurting Tasmania and needs to stop.
“Sadly, Labor’s negativity surrounding the matter has not helped and disparaging commentary has harmed the state’s economic interests,” Abetz continues.
“The relentless negativity is hurting the state’s economic opportunities, and it’s time to move forward together.”
A Tasmanian Labor spokesperson welcomed the “backflip” from the initial leasing plans but doubled down on the severity of the “stuff-up” surrounding the vessels.
“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.”
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