Caravan park owner Gavin Imlach says delayed delivery of new Spirit of Tasmania ships has sent his business to brink

A caravan park owner from the North-West Coast says the deferred delivery of the new Spirit of Tasmania ships has sent his business to the brink. HOW IT’S IMPACTED HIM >>>

The Spirit of Tasmania docked at the Port of Leith In Edinburgh on 1st May, 2025. Picture: Sophie Elsworth

A caravan park operator who spent more than $150,000 preparing for an influx of customers from the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries says he will be forced to close his business after the state government failed to deliver the ships on time.

Giving evidence to the state parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Monday, Gavin Imlach, who owns the Latrobe Mersey River Caravan Park, said the government had urged tourism operators to prepare for a 40 per cent increase in visitor numbers from November 2024 onwards as a result of the new ferries coming into service.

Latrobe Mersey River Caravan Park owner Gavin Imlach. Picture Chris Kidd

Mr Imlach said he “trusted the advice of our leaders as being correct” and therefore made a “significant” investment into upgrading his facilities, such as putting on additional staff, developing a new business plan, and upgrading infrastructure.

However, it was revealed in October last year that the ships would not be delivered as planned due to delays to the construction of Berth 3 at Devonport.

The Latrobe Mersey River Caravan Park subsequently saw a 47 per cent reduction in revenue in September-December compared to the same three-month period in 2023.

“My caravan park was empty of mainland number plates in November to December 2024 … there were no mainland number plates coming off the ferry, and I had zero bookings, day after day after day, which is an unusual event,” Mr Imlach told the committee.

“It never has happened in 20 years.”

The caravan park owner said he had been forced to dismiss two live-in managers and one of them had suffered a stroke soon after he had been informed of the decision.

According to Mr Imlach, the delays affecting the replacement Spirits meant he had been forced to put off his retirement plans and the value of his business – which he is set to close – had “halved”.

The Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry docked at Leith in Edinburgh. Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images

“It’s so disappointing after [two decades], with all of this trial and error and getting to a point where I’m ready to step out and then all of a sudden I’ve been crucified by the failure of this [project],” he said.

The government announced last week that it had brought forward the completion date for Berth 3 to October 2026, meaning the new ferries will be operational in time for the 2026-27 summer season.

However, the budget for the port infrastructure project has blown out from an original figure of $90m to an eye-watering $493m.

Opposition Leader Dean Winter said Mr Imlach had never received an apology or any compensation and that he was “just one of many hundreds” of people impacted by the Spirit of Tasmania delays.

Labor leader Dean Winter.

Transport Minister Eric Abetz said the Spirits project was “back on track” with “no help from the Opposition”.

“I think what’s now becoming patently clear is that the [TT-Line] management at the time let down the people of Tasmania, the government, and the then-minister, in a manner that was clearly not acceptable,” he said.

“We as a government, faced with that, dealt with change in management, change in board, change of a project manager, a new CEO.

“We have done all those things necessary to recover this project, and I have every confidence that about October 2026 we will see the new Spirits doing that for which they were designed, and that is to help underpin our productive sector and our tourism sector.”