Spirit of Tasmania V has left its Scottish berth and begun the journey to Australia, following the same route its sister ship took last year.
The 212-metre vessel departed Leith at about 2:30am AEST on Saturday, TT-Line confirmed.
It will travel via Gibraltar, Cape Verde, Cape Town, Mauritius and Fremantle, avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The voyage is expected to take approximately seven weeks.
TT-Line CEO Chris Carbone said the departure was a significant step for the company’s vessel replacement program.
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming our second new vessel home,” he said.
On arrival in Fremantle, the ship will complete customs and importation requirements before travelling to Geelong for gantry testing.
It will then be berthed in Melbourne until a berth becomes available in Hobart at the end of the cruise season, expected around April.
In Hobart, the ship will be fitted with Tasmanian content and used for public events, as Spirit IV was before it.
Labor’s shadow infrastructure minister Anita Dow called on the government to disclose the full cost of keeping Spirit V in Scotland while the Devonport berth was under construction.
“Tasmanians deserve to know how much their government spent keeping Spirit of Tasmania V sitting idle in Scotland,” she said.
Dow also sought detail on mainland docking costs and whether further government funding for TT-Line would be included in the May budget.
Speaking in Devonport, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the cost figures would be provided once finalised.
He confirmed Spirit IV’s docking in Geelong was costing about $900,000 a month and said he expected a similar arrangement for Spirit V.
Asked whether additional funding for TT-Line was being considered, Rockliff said the government would continue to support the company.
Both new vessels are expected to enter service in October.
