New Spirit of Tasmania ferry departs Leith Scotland for Hobart
Spirit of Tasmania IV has departed Scotland for the 14,857 nautical mile voyage home to Hobart. WHEN IT WILL GET HERE >>
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The first of two new ferries, Spirit of Tasmania IV, has officially departed Scotland for the 14,857 nautical mile voyage home to Hobart.
TT-Line confirmed the 212-metre-long, 48,000 gross tonne ship left Leith on Monday, June 30 and will travel to Hobart via Gibraltar, Cape Verde Islands, Cape Town in South Africa, Port Louis in Mauritius and Fremantle in Western Australia.
Spirit of Tasmania IV is required to stay in Fremantle for four days for vessel importation into Australia, customs and immigration formalities, a crew change, bunkers and fresh stores.
It was expected to leave Scotland in May but weather issues as well as an issue with its liquid natural gas system contributed to its delayed departure.
TT-Line CEO Chris Carbone said Spirit IV was expected to complete the trip to Australia in about six weeks, weather permitting.
“We expect the vessel will be alongside in Hobart in late-August for the final fit out of items including Tasmanian-made mattresses and table tops, cabin stores and artwork, and to undertake vessel crew training,” Mr Carbone said.
“The training for our crew involves emergency response exercises, passenger muster simulation, firefighting drills, deployment of lifeboats and the mass evacuation systems.”
Mr Carbone said the work to develop the new Spirit of Tasmania terminal at Devonport was ‘well under way’.
“We have seen significant progress to the passenger vehicle areas and freight yards,” he said.
“The team has begun the complex operation to install 27 marine piles for the wharf and the loading gantry. Nine have been completed.”
The second new ferry remains in Finland after last week officially being handed over to TT-Line by Finnish ship-building company Rauma Marine Constructions.
Both ships — replacements for the current three-decade-old ferries — are expected to be in operation by October 2026.
Spirit of Tasmania IV on the move
June 22: A new Spirit of Tasmania ferry in on the move, departing for a sea trial after technical issues with the liquefied natural gas system were rectified.
A spokesperson for Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line confirmed the vessel had departed Scotland.
“Spirit of Tasmania IV has departed for a multi-day sea trial to ensure the LNG system is performing to specification,” they said.
“Upon successful completion of the sea trial the vessel will return to Leith ahead of its planned voyage to Tasmania.”
A spokesperson said they were working closely on the ground with Finish shipbuilder RMC to fix a technical issue with two of the new ferries late last month.
They announced that the issue on the Spirit V was rectified on June 5, and the same modification successfully applied to the vessel would be applied to the Spirit IV.
It was then first tested in a port trial.
Spirit IV has been berthed at Leith since November last year and was initially expected to depart for Australia “on or around” May 26, according to the state government.
No finalised timeline for the ferry’s arrival in Australia has been announced.
Its voyage is expected to take about 36 days, with the final fit-out set to be completed in Hobart.
Originally published as New Spirit of Tasmania ferry departs Leith Scotland for Hobart
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