Spirit of Tasmania crew members stood down as passenger numbers sink

Spirit of Tasmania staff members have been stood down, becoming “an unfortunate casualty” of coronavirus restrictions.

A LACK of passenger bookings between Tasmania and Victoria has prompted Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line to start standing down staff.

Employees were told today that they would be stood down.

The two Spirit of Tasmania ferries will continue to operate their normal sailing schedule although the Sunday night service has already been cancelled due to a lack of bookings in both directions.

STATE'S JOBLESS FIGURES REMAIN STEADY

TT-Line Company said it would start to temporarily stand down employees from today.

CEO Bernard Dwyer said employees had been asked to draw on their accrued leave entitlements in the first instance.

“The Spirit of Tasmania vessels will continue to operate their normal daily schedule, though this would be regularly reviewed,” he said.

“Sunday night sailings have already been cancelled due to extremely low bookings.

“The Tasmanian Government’s appropriate response to the COVID-19 outbreak has meant passenger numbers have steadily declined over recent weeks, though there is still good demand for our freight service.

“The company will comply with all safety standards relating to the operation of the vessels, including crew levels.”

The Devonport Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it understood the situation was “an unfortunate casualty of the coronavirus restrictions”.

“However, it is important to maintain the Spirit’s freight capacity, which remains critical to the Devonport business community and Tasmania as a whole,” the body said.

“We also look forward to the return of normal passenger ferry services once it is safe to do so.”