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10 January, 2025

Outcry as Spirit of Tasmania IV is scheduled to remain in Scotland for another month

Melbourne, Australia - March 14, 2017: The Spirit of Tasmania, an interstate passenger ferry, docked at Station Pier in Port Melbourne.

By Sofia Geraghty

The newly-completed Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry is to remain in Scotland for another month after TT-Line failed to lease the ship.

The Spirit IV was built in Finland but has been delayed in Edinburgh as the port infrastructure in its home port of Devonport is not currently fit to house the ship.

In its latest update on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry, the Tasmanian Government said that state-owned operator TT-Line had been unable to find a third party to lease the ferry. As a result, it has extended its lease in Edinburgh for another 30 days.

The state government noted that the lease extension was significantly cheaper than the initial berthing costs for the vessel.

“The ship remains in Leith, Scotland, while this work continues, with TT-Line extending its lease a further 30 days at an average weekly cost of $23,915, plus ancillary costs,” it said in a statement.

The Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry arrived at the Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland on Wednesday the 4th of December after three and a half-day trip from Finland where it was built.

Both the Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry and sister ship Spirit of Tasmania V (currently under construction) are too big for the existing infrastructure of Devonport in northern Tasmania. A delay in the port upgrade means that it is unlikely that Devonport will be able to receive them until early 2027.

Whilst the state government insists keeping the sheep in Scotland is the most viable option, it has received extensive criticism from its opposition who claim that it is better to home the ship in Tasmania.

“Hobart’s been mentioned [as a suitable port to store the vessel]. But, also, you have other ports around the state,” Labor MLC Luke Edmunds is quoted as stating last week.

“Let’s bring them home … it’s costing us $600,000 a month [in port fees in Scotland].”

The $600,000-a-week estimate is mainly made up of crewing costs, however, the Tasmanian Government insists that it would need to pay crewing costs no matter where the ship is stored.

The Spirit of Tasmania ferries connect Tasmania with Geelong, Victoria. TT-Line Company moved its Victorian port operations for Spirit of Tasmania from Station Pier, Port Melbourne, to Corio Quay, north of Geelong in 2020.

There also used to be a service that connected Tasmania with Sydney, however, this was halted in 2006 due to low passenger numbers and rising fuel costs.

The Liberal government, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, has been on a mission to replace the two Spirit of Tasmania ferries for more than seven years now, however the project has been plagued by a number of costly delays and mistakes.

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