New Spirit of Tasmania Vessels to Replace Older Ships Amid Service Hiatus

The two new Spirit of Tasmania ferries, IV and V, will replace the older vessels from October 23 to 30, when passenger services pause for training and testing. The change will end daytime sailing and include new berth infrastructure at Devonport, while customers face booking shortages during this transition period. Spirit of Tasmania IV arrives in Devonport in August, passing one of the ships it will be replacing. Two new Spirit of Tasmania vessels are set to launch in October, replacing Spirit I and II, which were launched nearly 25 years ago. But there will be eight days during the changeover when no paying passenger ferry services will run between Tasmania and the mainland. The Spirit of Tasmania ferry service between Tasmania and the mainland will take no paying passengers for a week in late October because staff will be busy with operational testing of the new ships. A week ahead of the older ships, Spirit I and II, making way for the newer, bigger IV and V, staff will undergo training with the new ferries. It means they will be unavailable to crew the vessels for the Bass Strait crossings between October 23 and 30. The introduction of the new ships will also result in an end to daytime sailing, due to increased freight and passenger capacity, the operator TT-Line said. New purpose-built infrastructure at berth 3 in Devonport created to accommodate the larger ships is set to be completed by the end of October, four months ahead of schedule, the government has said. Crowds turned out to see Spirit of Tasmania IV arrive in Devonport in August. Amelia Clifford lived in Tasmania for 12 years, moving to the mainland due to the rental crisis in Hobart. She regularly uses Spirit of Tasmania services to visit her 11-year-old daughter who lives in Tasmania's south with her father. Her plans to visit in October with her car and dog have been dashed, with no bookings being taken between October 23 and October 30. There is also a two-month period where vehicle bookings appear to be sold out, meaning she cannot get to Tasmania with her car anytime between this Friday and November 11. "We've got extra , so there's no reason not to have extra sailings; there's no day sailings, there's a chunk of time where there's no movement at all," she said. Ms Clifford accused the Tasmanian government of being "so pro-stadium everything else has fallen to the side", referring to the"How is it that you don't keep the state highway, which is on water, going? They're not looking at governing," she said. "That's their remit: education, health, welfare, transport, access. The remit of the government is not to build a stadium for rich AFL players. The construction of a new, deeper berth in Devonport to accommodate the new ships is continuing. Chris Carbone, chief executive of TT Line, said transition periods were a "normal part of projects of this scale and help ensure the new vessels, supporting infrastructure and operational teams are fully prepared to deliver a safe, reliable and high-quality service from day one". "The period also provides the opportunity to undertake live operational testing of systems and processes, helping ensure a smooth transition to service and a seamless customer experience when we commence sailings. ") Earlier this month, Mr Carbone said the transition week would involve Spirits IV and V undertaking 12 trips with freight across Bass Strait between Geelong and Devonport, along with a "number of team members and, potentially, tourism industry participants". "The new ships have much more space, especially for caravans, motorhomes and other large vehicles," he said. Bookings for any Spirit voyage are currently not available beyond July 6, 2027, with longer-term bookings expected to open in the near future. With Spirits IV and V about to enter service, Spirits I and II are on the market, with Tasmanian government minister Nick Duigan stating "as I'm advised, there is plenty of interest". In late August, Mr Duigan said "experts were working through the sale process", but did not say where I and II would berth if not sold by the time the new ships came into service. "As we have done all along, we will release those numbers in terms of docking fees and fees attributable to holding the ships; we don't have those numbers finalised at the moment. When we do, we will release them. "TT Line's Chris Carbone said there had been "significant interest" in Spirits I and II and re-confirmed the new ferries would begin service in October. "We have had a number of parties conduct inspections, either directly or via agents on their behalf. Further, a number of engineering assessments of the vessels have been undertaken," he said.