History | |
---|---|
Name | Spirit of Tasmania IV |
Owner | TT-Line Company Pty Ltd (Tasmania) |
Operator | Spirit of Tasmania |
Port of registry | Devonport |
Route | Geelong–Devonport |
Ordered | April 2021 |
Builder | Rauma Marine Constructions, Rauma, Finland |
Yard number | 6009 [1] |
Laid down | 28 October 2022 |
Launched | 27 October 2023 [2] |
In service | 2024 (scheduled) |
Identification | IMO number: 9936587 |
Status | Under construction |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Ropax ferry |
Tonnage | |
Length | 212 m (695 ft 6 in) |
Beam | 31 m (102 ft) |
Installed power | 4 × Wärtsilä 9L46DF (4 × 10,305 kW) [1] |
Speed | 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) |
Capacity |
|
Spirit of Tasmania IV 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.
In April 2021 Rauma Marine Constructions signed a contract with Spirit of Tasmania for the construction of two ships, the Spirit of Tasmania IV and Spirit of Tasmania V . [3] [4] [5] Construction commenced on 28 February 2022 with a steel-cutting ceremony. [6] The keel was laid on 28 October 2022. [7] It will be the first ferry on the Bass Strait route to use LNG fuel. [8] [9]
The two ferries will replace the Spirit of Tasmania I and Spirit of Tasmania II . It is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024. [10]
A ferry is a watercraft that carries passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called 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 pivotal 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, better known by its trading name Spirit of Tasmania is a company which has been operating ferries from mainland Australia to Tasmania since July 1985. The company was separated from the Tasmanian Government's Department of Transport in 1993, becoming a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Tasmania where it was then named Spirit of Tasmania in August 1993.
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 Spirit of Britain is a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries on the Dover-Calais route. 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.
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.
Meyer Turku Oy is a Finnish shipbuilding company located in Turku, Finland Proper. The company is fully owned by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft GmbH. The main products are cruise ships and cruiseferries.
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.
The E-Flexer is a class of Chinese-built Ro-Pax ferries ordered by Stena RoRo for European line service. Twelve vessels of the class are on order, and upon delivery will be operated by Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways and Marine Atlantic. 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.
MV Rusadir is a roll on/roll off passenger vessel launched in 2018 by Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft in Germany. She was to have been operated by Brittany Ferries as Honfleur, but they cancelled the contract in 2020 after extended delays. The incomplete vessel was then taken to Fosen Yard at Trondheim, Norway for completion. In March 2023 she was renamed Rusadir for a six-month charter to Baleària of Spain.
Helsinki Shipyard is a Finnish shipbuilding company based at Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland.
Aurora Botnia is a Finnish roll-on/roll-off passenger (ro-pax) ferry operated by Wasaline on the Vaasa–Umeå route. The vessel was built by Rauma Marine Constructions 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 an Estonian roll-on/roll-off passenger (ro-pax) ferry operated by Tallink on the Tallinn–Helsinki route. The vessel was built by Rauma Marine Constructions and entered service in December 2022.