‘No evidence’ on horse deaths: TT-Line | New TT-Line Bass Strait ferries may be built in Europe after all
The chairman of government-owned ferry operator TT-Line says he is tired of media reports 16 horses died aboard one of the company’s vessels | The state government's stop-start attempt to buy new Bass Strait ferries could go back to ‘Plan A’. ROLLING COVERAGE >>
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THERE was no evidence that 16 horses which died in transit between Tasmania and Victoria in 2018 perished aboard a TT-Line ferry, the company’s chairman says.
TT-Line has pleaded not guilty to 29 animal welfare charges, including allegations the company didn’t provide adequate air flow for the polo ponies.
The ponies were found dead by former Australian polo team captain Andrew Williams, he opened the float he was driving at a property in regional Victoria.
The ponies had competed at the annual Barnbougle Polo Tournament, north of Launceston, and had crossed Bass Strait aboard a TT-Line ferry.
But company chairman Mike Grainger told Government Business Estimates committee hearing he had seen no evidence that the horses died aboard the ferry.
“No one in authority has provided us with evidence that the animals passed away on the ship. I can’t be more straight than that,” he said.
“We get annoyed but the damage has been done to our brand.
“People need to understand that we are carrying animals, every single day. We know the amount of horses we carry every single day and we are still the preferred carrier of horses across Bass Strait.
“No one cares more about the welfare of animals on our ships than we do. We’re just getting a bit sick and tired of the commentary that’s associated with this issue, we really are.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure that these incidents don’t happen, but when I watch the evening news and read the newspaper and see those reports about horses dying on our ships, no-one has actually validated those comments.”
In November 2019, TT-Line pleaded not guilty in the Burnie Magistrates Court to one count of using a management method likely to result in unreasonable and unjustifiable pain and suffering and 28 counts of failing to ensure the creatures were individually stalled.
Last month, Supreme Court Justice Alan Blow dismissed a TT-Line attempt to have the charges thrown out.
The judge found the submissions by TT-Line’s counsel were “devoid of merit.”
“The hearing before the learned magistrate has been delayed by months as a result of unmeritorious arguments and a motion for the review of rulings that were plainly correct,” he wrote.
The company took on notice questions about how many animals had died aboard its vessels in recent years.
FERRIES MAY BE BUILT IN EUROPE AFTER ALL
THE replacements for the Spirit of Tasmania ferries could still be built in Europe after all, a parliamentary committee has heard.
The state government is trying to find a local builder for some or all of the $850 million-plus project.
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael Ferguson asked for patience while the task force carried out its work.
“We don’t know where it will lead because we were not in receipt of that report and the options that we hope to be and we expect to be contained within it,” he said.
“All of our options that we had prior to that remain on the table.
“It still exists as a possibility that we could end up in the fullness of time having a European build.
“It also should be a possibility that is being countenanced for an Australian build or possibly a hybrid model approach.
“Plan A as I’ve said, as the Premier has also said … which is the RMC option, has not been dismissed at all.”
Announced in 2018, the two new ferries were supposed to be in service in March next year.
TT-Line withdrew from a deal with German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft to build the ferry in March and scrapped a deal with Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions in July.
TT-Line Chairman Mike Grainger said the company had been unable to find a local builder when it constructed the initial business case.
“Over the three years that we that we took to establish the business case we looked at all options in Australia and worldwide,” he said.
“Those options included all different types of vessels to operate on our specific route and we took advice from a number of international consultants in the marine industry as well.
“We evaluated as many options as we could find at the time we had significant discussions in the sense of leaving no stone unturned and that’s what we did.
“The particular ship builders that we’d evaluated in the early stages of the business case have not changed their structure at all.
Labor’s Dr Shane Broad asked: “So how has the capability of Australian builders changed between 2017 and now.
Mr Grainger replied: “To my knowledge, it hasn’t.”
Independent economist Saul Eslake last month described the delays to building the ferries as potentially the most costly economic blunder the state has made in four decades.
He put the cost of the delay at up to $350 million a year to the state economy.
TT-Line CEO Bernard Dwyer told the committee the company was not aware of any complaints against accused paedophile nurse Jim Griffin, who worked as a contractor on the ferries between 2003 and 2009.
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