King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark were all smiles as they held crayfish and sea urchins during a boat tour off Taroona today.
“It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for it,” Queen Mary said, adding holding the urchin was “a new experience”.
“It’s very interesting to learn about the importance of the biodiversity and ecosystems in this area,” she said.
The Hobart-born Queen said some “good memories popped up” as the tour passed her former high school.
The royals then visited Hobart shipbuilder Incat, ahead of a trip to award-winning restaurant The Agrarian Kitchen, during their historic return to Tasmania.
The couple toured the Derwent Park shipyard on Thursday, inspecting the dock and battery compartment of a completed ferry being built for Danish operator Molslinjen.
Incat is constructing three fully electric high-speed ferries for Molslinjen in a deal worth 3.5 billion Danish kroner – the world’s largest electrification project at sea.
Each 129-metre catamaran will carry up to 1,500 passengers and 500 cars at speeds of up to 40 knots, operating entirely on battery power across Denmark’s Kattegat routes.
The first ferry is due to enter service in late 2027, with the remaining vessels to follow in 2028 and 2029.
A commemorative plaque was unveiled during the visit.
The royals also inspected Hull 096, China Zorrilla – the largest battery-electric vessel of its kind ever built.
The 130-metre ferry has a 40-megawatt-hour battery system weighing 250 tonnes and is due to be shipped to South America this month.
Earlier, the King and Queen visited the Alum Cliffs Marine Reserve near Taroona, where Mary grew up, to meet University of Tasmania researchers working on kelp forest restoration.
Tasmania has lost more than 95% of its giant kelp forests since the 1970s due to warming seas and sea urchin overgrazing.
The couple will later today visit The Agrarian Kitchen in New Norfolk, touring the kitchen garden at the farm-to-table cooking school, which grows 95% of its produce on site.
The Tasmanian leg of the visit will end on Thursday night with a walkabout on Hunter Street and a state reception hosted by Governor Barbara Baker, concluding the six-day Australian tour.
