The Spirit of Tasmania I sailed on its final passenger voyage, carrying travellers to Geelong as TT Line prepared to bring two new ships into service.
The ferry left for Geelong around 8:30pm yesterday. Its sister ship, the Spirit of Tasmania II, is due to make its last voyage tonight.
The farewells came as Spirit Quay, the new terminal in Devonport built for the Spirit of Tasmania IV and V, was officially opened on Thursday.
TT Line said the new ships were a week away from their first passenger sailings.
The original vessels had served Bass Strait for more than 25 years.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff thanked the ship and its crew at the opening.
“Thank you, Spirit I, for your wonderful service to Tasmania and all who crewed her and worked on her,” he said.
Minister Kerry Vincent said there would be mixed feelings in Devonport.
“It’ll be sad to see I and II sail out over the next couple of days, but what excitement there is about IV and V coming onto a permanent run in between Geelong and Devonport,” he said.
TT Line said many of its team members had “lived and worked on those vessels for now 25 years”. The company marked the occasion with celebratory merchandise and team photos.
Shipbroker Clarksons is handling the sale of both vessels. TT Line said it was in advanced negotiations with a number of interested parties but could not disclose details because they were commercially confidential.
The company said it was not in a position to announce a sale yet. It said it did not expect the ships to be berthed for a long period of time.
Rockliff said the sale process was ongoing.
