A ferry is a boat that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.
Devonport is a port city situated at the mouth of the Mersey River on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Positioned 47 kilometres (29 mi) east of Burnie and 98 kilometres (61 mi) north of Launceston, its harbour manages over half of Tasmania's imports and exports, standing as the busiest freight port on the island. Devonport also plays a central role in Tasmania's trade sector, supporting industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. The City of Devonport's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $3.5b in 2023.
The MS Theofilos was a passenger/vehicle ferry built at the Nobiskrug shipyard in Rendsburg, Germany in 1975.
MV Ulysses is a RORO car ferry currently owned and operated by Irish Ferries. The ship was launched on 1 September 2000 at Aker Finnyards shipyard in Rauma, Finland and services the Dublin–Holyhead route.
TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, trading as Spirit of Tasmania, is a Tasmanian Government-owned business that has been offering ferry services between mainland Australia and Tasmania since July 1993. Navigating the Bass Strait, Spirit of Tasmania ferry services cover a distance of 242 nautical miles between Geelong, Victoria and Devonport, Tasmania. Each journey across the "Sea Highway" takes approximately 9–11 hours in both directions.
MS Princess Seaways is a cruiseferry operated and owned by the Danish shipping company DFDS Seaways on a route connecting North Shields, England, to IJmuiden in the Netherlands. She was built in 1986 as Peter Pan by Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, Germany for TT-Line. Between 1993 and 2002, the ship was operated by TT-Line Company of Tasmania under the name Spirit of Tasmania a service across the Bass Strait. In 2002, the ship was sold to Fjord Line and renamed Fjord Norway for service from Denmark. In 2006, she was sold to DFDS Seaways and sailed as Princess of Norway before being given her current name in 2011.
Mega Express Four is a fast roll-on/roll-off ferry owned by Corsica Ferries - Sardinia Ferries and operated on their routes from Nice and Toulon to Ile Rousse. She was built in 1995 by Schichau Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, Germany for Superfast Ferries as Superfast II. Between 2003 and 2006 she sailed for TT-Line as Spirit of Tasmania III.
MS Spirit of Tasmania I is a roll-on/roll-off ferry operated by TT-Line between Geelong and Devonport in Australia. Built in 1998 by Kvaerner Masa-Yards at Turku New Shipyard in Finland for Superfast Ferries as MS Superfast IV, since 2002 she has sailed for TT-Line as MS Spirit of Tasmania I.
MS Spirit of Tasmania II is a roll-on/roll-off ferry operated by TT-Line between Geelong and Devonport in Australia. Built in 1998 by Kvaerner Masa-Yards at Turku New Shipyard in Finland for Superfast Ferries as MS Superfast III, since 2002 she has sailed for TT-Line as MS Spirit of Tasmania II.
MS Oscar Wilde is a cross-channel ferry to be operated by Irish Ferries on the Dover-Calais route. Formerly named Spirit of Britain, she is the first of two Spirit-class ships built for P&O Ferries, the other being Spirit of France. The vessels are the largest ferries constructed for the cross-channel route. She was chartered by Irish Ferries after being laid up by P&O in early 2024; with the obligation to purchase after two years.
MS Spirit of France is a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries on the Dover–Calais route. She is the second of two Spirit-class ships built for P&O Ferries, the other being Spirit of Britain The vessels are the largest ferries constructed for the Dover/Calais route and the largest ferries to ever cross the English Channel.
Bass Strait Ferries have been the ships that have been used for regular transport across Bass Strait between Tasmania and Victoria in mainland Australia, as well as the various attempts to link Tasmania with Sydney. Historically, some regular shipping services in the twentieth century linked Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart with the Bass Strait ports: Launceston's various port locations, Devonport and Burnie. The distinction between coastal shipping and Bass Strait ferry has been blurred at times.
Rauma shipyard is a shipyard in Rauma, Finland. It was previously operated by STX Finland which is owned by the South Korean STX Corporation. Rauma shipyard is specialized in large ferries, small cruise ships, multipurpose icebreakers and small naval craft.
MS Megastar is a fast ro-ro/passenger (ro-pax) ferry built by the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, for the Estonian shipping company Tallink. The 230 million euro vessel is the first ship in Tallink's fleet to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel.
Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) is a Finnish shipbuilding company based in Rauma, Finland. The company's main products are car ferries, icebreakers and naval vessels.
MV Glen Sannox is a car and passenger ferry constructed at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow for the Scottish Government asset company CMAL to lease to its ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne, planned to serve the Ardrossan to Brodick crossing to the Isle of Arran. It is to be the first of two dual-fuel CalMac ferries, capable of operating on either marine gas oil, or LNG which offers a marked reduction in sulphur, nitrous oxide and carbon emissions. The ship's name, chosen from a shortlist by public ballot on 1 June 2017, recalls an earlier Arran ferry. Following a much-delayed construction, she was handed over to Caledonian MacBrayne on 21 November 2024.
The E-Flexer is a class of Chinese-built Ro-Pax ferries ordered by Stena RoRo for European line service. Fifteen vessels of the class are on order, and upon delivery will be operated by Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Marine Atlantic, Corsica Linea and Attica Group. Stena Line are to take five vessels of the class, Brittany Ferries five, and a single vessel each to DFDS and Marine Atlantic, of which the latter's vessel will also be hybrid electric. All of the vessels will be delivered to Stena RoRo with the Stena Line vessels transferred to that company and the Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Marine Atlantic examples long-term chartered to those operators, with an option to purchase at the end of the charter.
Aurora Botnia is a roll-on/roll-off passenger (ro-pax) ferry operated by the Finnish shipping company Wasaline on the Vaasa–Umeå route. The vessel was built by Rauma Marine Constructions in Rauma, Finland, and entered service in August 2021.
Spirit of Tasmania V is a roll-on/roll-off ferry, under construction by Rauma Marine Constructions at its shipyards in Rauma, Finland. It is to be operated by Spirit of Tasmania in Australia on the Bass Strait ferry route between Geelong, Victoria and Devonport, Tasmania.
MyStar is a roll-on/roll-off passenger (ro-pax) ferry operated by the Estonian shipping company Tallink on the Tallinn–Helsinki route. The vessel was built by Rauma Marine Constructions in Rauma, Finland and entered service in December 2022.
