TLDR
The new Spirit of Tasmania ferries start carrying passengers across Bass Strait tonight. They arrive five years later than promised and $700 million over the original business case, and operator TT-Line's debt will peak at $1.1 billion this financial year.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Tasmania's new Bass Strait ferries carry their first passengers tonight, five years later than promised and $700 million over the original business case.[1]
Spirit of Tasmania IV and V are due to leave Devonport and Geelong at 6:45pm. They replace Spirits I and II, which have run the route since 2002.[1]
The new ships carry 400 more passengers and have 60 per cent more vehicle space. They also fit three times as many caravans and motorhomes, a long-running bottleneck for the state's drive tourism.[1]
Nine years in the making
The Hodgman government announced the replacement in 2017 and promised the new ferries by 2021.[1]
State-owned operator TT-Line signed a $714 million deal with German shipbuilder FSG in 2018. The contract was cancelled in early 2020 over FSG's finances.[1]
A later deal with Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions was paused when then premier Peter Gutwein set up a taskforce to see whether the ships could be built in Australia. That failed, the original construction slot was lost, and TT-Line later paid RMC an extra $81 million to finish the ships.[1]
A berth that blew out
The bigger ships needed a bigger berth at Devonport. It was due in August 2024 at a cost of $90 million.[1]
In June 2024 TT-Line said the cost had risen to $375 million and the berth would not be ready until February 2027. Construction had not started. The fallout cost TT-Line chair Michael Grainger his job, and Michael Ferguson resigned as infrastructure minister and later as deputy premier.[1]
The works were brought forward in time for tonight's sailings, but their cost has since grown to $493 million.[1]
The bill
TT-Line's debt is forecast to peak at $1.1 billion this financial year, and the company is projected to stay in debt until at least 2052. Taxpayers are also paying to store the old ships until a buyer is found.[1]
In 2020 economist Saul Eslake estimated Tasmania could lose $350 million for every year the new ferries were not running.[1]
"We're excited, we're relieved, and we're really … looking forward to having our new Spirits on their run and bringing visitors to Tasmania," Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Amy Hills said.[1]
"A lot of those years were characterised as uncertainty, and it's really difficult for a visitor economy to have uncertainty," she said.[1]
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