Spirit of Tasmania IV arrives in Western Australia after voyage from Scotland
Spirit of Tasmania IV — one of two new vessels that are set to replace TT-Line's current Bass Strait ferries — left the Scottish port of Leith on June 30.
The 212-metre-long ship has reached Fremantle in Western Australia, after travelling via Gibraltar, Cape Verde off the western coast of Africa, Cape Town in South Africa and Port Louis in Mauritius.
It will remain in Fremantle for the next four days to undergo customs and immigration formalities and a crew change, as well as to pick up fresh supplies and fuel.
Spirit IV will then make its way to Hobart, where it's scheduled to dock on August 23, weather permitting.
In Hobart, the vessel will undergo a final fit-out, including mattresses, tabletops and artworks, while the crew will undertake training.
It will be more than a year before Spirit IV begins transporting passengers and freight between Tasmania and Victoria, due to significant delays and cost blowouts with its berthing facilities in Devonport.
The infrastructure, which was originally set to cost $90 million but will now cost $493 million, won't be ready until October next year.
Spirit IV was built in Finland by shipbuilder Rauma Marine Construction (RMC), which completed the job last year.
But instead of heading to Tasmania, it spent almost six months berthed in Scotland while the state government investigated whether another company would lease the ship.
As of late April, storing the vessel in Scotland had cost the Tasmanian government $4.3 million, including fuel, crew and port costs.
The second replacement vessel, Spirit of Tasmania V, was handed over to TT-Line at a ceremony in Finland in June.
It is not yet known when Spirit V will leave Finland and travel to Tasmania.
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