One delayed Spirit of Tasmania ship to arrive in August, premier says
The newest Spirit of Tasmania ship is finally set to leave Europe and start heading to Tasmania in just over a week.
It follows a lengthy saga involving mechanical delays and an infrastructure debacle.
Spirit of Tasmania IV was due to leave Finland late last year, but ferry operator TT-Line failed to build its berth on time.
The ship was then moved to a port in Scotland while the Liberal government explored options to lease it out. That is where it has been for the past six months.
The ship was expected to leave in May, but then an issue was detected with its liquid natural gas (LNG) system.
Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Construction has managed to modify the system, and the ship has been undertaking sea trials.
On Sunday, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff revealed the ferry would be expected to leave Scotland and make its way to Australia in 10 days' time.
He said the journey would take about six weeks, with the predicted arrival in August.
The ship will head to Hobart where it will receive final fit-outs.
Its berth in Devonport is not expected to be completed until at least October 2026.
It is unclear what will happen to the ferry until it can be used to transport passengers between Tasmania and the mainland.
The ship is one of two new ferries that were built in Finland. Spirit V is still undertaking sea trials.
The Spirit of Tasmania saga was one of three reasons listed on Labor's successful no-confidence motion against the Premier.
The no-confidence motion eventually led to the calling of the election.
During its campaign, Labor has drawn attention to the many issues with the project and promised that both ships would be home before Christmas.
On Sunday, Labor leader Dean Winter also said he would make sure the new ferries could refuel with locally produced LNG at their home port.
The two new ferries have a dual fuel system, meaning that they can run on both diesel and LNG.
Mr Winter said upgrading the LNG facilities in Devonport will trigger more that $70 million in private investment and create 150 construction jobs and 15 ongoing roles.
Tasmanian Gas Pipeline chief executive Wacek Lipski said this was not new technology and the fact private companies ran on it proved it made economic sense.
"All up there's 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions to be saved by switching to LNG," Mr Lipski said.
"The vessels are covered by safeguard mechanisms … [that] means the vessels must reduce emissions now and by 2030 be 43 per cent from where they are now.
Mr Lipski said his company had the capital and technical knowledge to take on the project, it just needed an agreement with ferry operator TT-Line.
The Liberals said all refuelling options were being planned for.
"These are matters that are already being addressed by TT-Line," Mr Rockliff said.
"All options will be canvassed to ensure that we do have the right infrastructure."
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