Tasmania has spent more than $22 million parking its two new Bass Strait ferries in Scotland, Victoria and Hobart while waiting for their Devonport berth to be built, with that bill expected to climb to around $28 million before the ships enter service.
Spirit of Tasmania V departed the Port of Hobart on Tuesday after five weeks of fit-out work, heading to Geelong for further testing.
TT-Line chief executive Chris Carbone said more than 100 contractors from over 30 Tasmanian companies worked on the ship during its Hobart stay, installing furniture, mattresses, artwork and entertainment systems.
Labor leader Josh Willie hit out at the mounting costs of the long-delayed project, saying the berthing fees sat on top of $717 million in cost overruns.
“This government has spent nearly $22 million on storage fees … for Spirit V and Spirit IV, when these are brand-new ships that should have been put into service to give the Tasmanian economy and the visitor economy in Tasmania a boost,” he said.
Willie said a further $6 million would be spent berthing the ships in Victoria until they could begin operating.
“You’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that’s not available for hospitals and schools,” he said.
He described the project as “a complete debacle” and said the government “spent a billion dollars on two new ships and forgot to build the berth”.
Acting Premier Bridget Archer said it had been “wonderful to have the Spirit in Hobart, particularly for Dark Mofo and the number of people that have had the opportunity to visit and see for themselves this fantastic new ship”.
The vessel opened its vehicle decks to nearly 80,000 people as an art venue during Dark Mofo.
“We look forward to the delivery of the new Spirits and the production and the implementation of their passage for passengers later this year,” she said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he was “looking forward to having both our new Spirits up and running in the near future”.
Both ships are scheduled to begin carrying passengers from October 31, depending on the new Devonport berth being completed on time.
