The Spirit of Tasmania IV was yet to dock in Geelong this morning, hours after its scheduled 6:30am arrival time, according to Pulse Tasmania.
The ship departed Devonport just after 7pm on Wednesday bound for Geelong. A social media post from on board stated the ship had to “wait for tug” before it could enter the channel. A ship tracking website showed the vessel had not yet docked and had made multiple sharp turns in Port Phillip Bay, east of Geelong. The tug boat later arrived to help the new ship.
Passengers were still on board the new Spirit of Tasmania IV, less than a week after the ferry started carrying paying customers. One person waiting at the Geelong terminal said a passenger had told them the ship was in Port Phillip Bay and would not dock for another four and a half hours. The person waiting at the terminal also said they could no longer contact the passenger and described the new vessels as “too expensive and unreliable”.
The new ships carried their first paying passengers on Saturday, sailing from Geelong to Devonport. Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent were among those on board for that crossing. They said at the time some things would need improving as the ships settled in over the coming weeks and months. Vincent said on Saturday that “Every project has its problems,” and added, “That’s behind us now.”
Vincent also stated that bookings rose 26% in September and 22% in October. The ferries entered service years later than planned after delays and cost blowouts. Last month, TT-Line reported a $723 million loss for 2025-26, which included a $368 million write-down on the value of the new ships.
Pulse Tasmania has contacted TT-Line for comment.