00:00For the past five years, caravan park owner Peter Robinson has been preparing for the
00:07arrival of the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries.
00:11The redevelopment, the acquisition and the building of accommodation was $5 million plus.
00:19The ships, with their 40% extra capacity, have been described as a game changer for
00:24the state, and should reduce the currently long wait for a caravan to get on.
00:30It's just frustrating because we get people ring up and they're trying to plan a trip
00:34and we say to them on the phone straight away, before you even start planning a trip, ring
00:39TT Line up and find out when you can get on.
00:43Unfortunately, Mr Robinson is far more organised than ferry operator TT Line, which has found
00:50itself with almost ready ships, but no home berth.
00:54That won't be finished until February 2027.
00:58It's just ridiculous, can't they organise their way out of a brown paper bag?
01:02It's actually very disappointing that they didn't forward plan for that one.
01:05I think it's like the same as the bridge that didn't line up, the new bridge that doesn't
01:12join up.
01:13It's ridiculous.
01:14The government's being urged to sail its way out of the stuff up.
01:18At the moment, there are only a few double day sailings a week.
01:23to increase that dramatically.
01:25I do think we need to drive the two vessels we currently have as hard as we can to fill
01:30the gap that was going to be filled by the two new vessels.
01:32What they need to do is add as many day sailings as they possibly can onto the roster now online
01:37so that people can actually book it.
01:39While the caravan spaces might fill up fast, the ships aren't always at capacity.
01:45In fact, overall bookings are down roughly 12% for the upcoming peak season.
01:50The government's hoping subsidised fares, which are part of its $26 million tourism
01:55package, will lead to more general bookings and extra day sailings.
02:00We absolutely take responsibility.
02:02We are sad about it.
02:04We feel disappointed.
02:05We feel let down.
02:06But we're not shying away from the fact that we now have these issues.
02:14Launching a rescue boat this morning, the government hopes it's not too late to fix
02:20the ferry fiasco.
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