TT-Line has removed the fuel surcharge on Spirit of Tasmania passenger and vehicle bookings.
The 15% surcharge was scrapped at 12am on September 1, five months after it was introduced.
The levy started on March 31 in response to the Middle East conflict, which had pushed global fuel prices sharply higher.
It was designed to recover the extra fuel costs of moving passengers and their vehicles across Bass Strait.
During the five months it was in place, the surcharge recovered only part of TT-Line’s added fuel costs, leaving a shortfall of more than $2 million.
TT-Line chief executive Chris Carbone said the surcharge was always meant to be temporary.
“Removing the surcharge before fully recovering additional costs is in the best interest of the Tasmanian visitor economy,” Carbone said.
He said the company would keep watching fuel prices closely.
When the surcharge was announced in March, TT-Line said two adults travelling with a standard vehicle would pay an extra $107 each way.
A family of four with a car and caravan would pay an additional $228 each way.
TT-Line chairman Ken Kanofski said at the time that fuel prices had risen by 80%, leaving the company facing a projected hit of more than $50 million.
TT-Line later faced political pressure to drop the levy, with Labor calling for it to be scrapped immediately.
Carbone said the long-standing fuel-related freight pricing would stay in place.
