Labor leader Josh Willie has questioned why Tasmania’s two brand-new Spirit of Tasmania ferries already need hull upgrades before they’ve even entered service.
“I think a lot of Tasmanians are probably asking how did we spend $1 billion on two new ships and they haven’t spent a day in service and they already need upgrades,” he said.
Chair of ferry operator TT-Line Ken Kanofski says the upgrades relate to the new fenders on the Devonport wharf, which cushion the ships when they berth.
“There is nothing wrong with these ships,” he told ABC Radio.
Kanofski said the issue came up while testing worst-case scenarios such as rough weather or thruster failures during docking.
“When we looked at those, we’ve found that there is a slight specification problem with the fenders,” he said.
“In the scheme of things, this is a very, very minor issue.”
Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent on Tuesday described the work as routine maintenance for new vessels.
“It’s no different than your house when you moved into it. There’s adjustments that you make to it,” he said.
Vincent said TT-Line was still finalising the cost of the modifications, while TT-Line insisted the hull upgrades were precautionary and would be covered “within the current budget”.
But Willie said Tasmanians were finding it hard to trust the government over the project.
He said it had been “less than transparent” and demanded to know when it first knew about the required upgrades.
The Labor leader also pressed the government on whether a financial bailout for TT-Line would be revealed in November’s interim budget.
“We would like clarity on the bailout. We know from the financing arm of government that a bailout is more likely than not,” he said.
“We know TT-Line’s finances are in perilous shape. Further cost escalations is going to impact that.”
TT-Line’s loan facility was lifted from $990 million to $1.4 billion during the caretaker period earlier this year.
The Spirit of Tasmania IV is currently docked in Hobart, while the Spirit of Tasmania V remains in Finland.
Both ships have been delayed from entering service due to the Devonport berth redevelopment running more than a year behind schedule.
