New Spirit of Tasmania ferry arrives in Hobart, but will not be operating for more than a year

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Spirit of Tasmania IV has arrived in Hobart, eight years after the Tasmanian government embarked on a project to replace the two ships currently in operation.

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00:00Looming large in front of a curious crowd. Spirit 4 finally birthed in Tasmania, albeit

00:10the wrong end of the state.

00:12I was in Salamanca Market a while ago when it arrived and it hooted and everyone cheered.

00:19So everyone was pleased to see that the spirit had finally arrived.

00:23The Premier was given a tour of the vessel, one of two built to replace the state's aging spirits.

00:29They're bigger, more modern and can carry more passengers, vehicles and freight.

00:34But it'll be more than a year before the ships start sailing between Devonport and Geelong.

00:39That's because the new dock in Devonport won't be ready until October 2026.

00:45We accept that things could have gone far better, but we are where we are.

00:51And we intervened last year to get the project back on track. It is back on track.

00:57The fact that that project has taken longer than we would have liked it to take gives no one any joy.

01:03The ship will be in Hobart for two months while staff undergo training and it's fitted out internally,

01:09with everything from tabletops to artwork being supplied by local businesses.

01:14It will then travel to Geelong before being docked in a Victorian port until it's ready to be used.

01:20Despite the costly bungle, many were excited to see the new vessel up close.

01:26It's fantastic. We've just had some weekend sport. We just noticed it driving down the outlet.

01:32So we thought we'd pop in and see the new shiny mobile that has finally made it to our coast,

01:38which is a buzz for the city, of course.

01:41Attention now turns to this vessel's sister ship, Spirit 5, which is built and sitting in a shipyard in Finland.

01:48It won't leave there until November when the sea ice clears.

01:52After that, it will spend the Australian summer in a European port before eventually making its way to Tasmania.

02:00I'll tell you the link is going to the Pacific.

02:11I'm going to check to the Australian port of the Pacific, so I can send a little out of the separate vessel's room.

02:16In the Pacific, I will tell you that, you know, these are the two of the viruses have been used as a bearer.

02:20I'll be the same as two of the viruses have been used by the central port of the Pacific.

02:23I'll be searching for that letter and a few of the viruses have been done in the back of the Pacific.

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