Sea Swift’s MV Newcastle Bay to retire

Close to 30 years’ faithful service will come to an end when the MV Newcastle Bay is retired at the end of the year.

MV Newcastle Bay’s last voyage will depart Cairns on Friday December 27, servicing the northern remote communities of Cape York Peninsula. After this voyage, MV Newcastle Bay will be sold to make room within Sea Swift’s fleet for the arrival of its replacement line haul vessel, MV Newcastle Bay II, which will be in service in March 2021.

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CLOSE to 30 years’ faithful service will come to an end when the MV Newcastle Bay is retired at the end of the year.

With the construction of new vessel MV Newcastle Bay II nearing completion, management at marine transport provider Sea Swift announced MV Newcastle Bay’s last voyage would depart Cairns on December 27.

The vessel would then be sold to make room within the fleet for the arrival of its replacement line haul vessel.

The MV Newcastle Bay II will begin service in March 2021.

Sea Swift is also working on the introduction of an adventure cruise for the MV Newcastle Bay II in 2021, which will carry 35 passengers a week, in addition to the already popular MV Trinity Bay cruise into the Torres Strait and Cape York.

The company’s Queensland operations general manager Peter Domenighini said the team was excited now the introduction of the MV Newcastle Bay II was becoming a reality.

“The new MV Newcastle Bay II will be with us before we know it, and will be a massive plus for the region,” he said.

“The vessel will add an additional 50 per cent cargo capacity, which is a major positive for our customers.

“As always, the team at Sea Swift are committed to moving our customers’ freight in a timely and safe manner.

“Customers are always welcome to contact our friendly customer service team to seek clarification on any matter regarding the movement of their freight.

“It’s an exciting time for the communities that we service with the new vessel arriving soon, and it will bring with it an opportunity for tourism partnerships and increased freight volumes.”

Schedules of vessel port rotations will be available to the public before Christmas.

Other vessels will cover the scheduled Friday services until MV Newcastle Bay II is in operation.

One vessel will provide the Cairns to Weipa service, departing Fridays and arriving in Weipa on Monday mornings; another will service Cairns to Horn and Thursday Islands service, departing Fridays and arriving Sundays; and a reserve vessel will handle overflow.

Originally published as Sea Swift’s MV Newcastle Bay to retire