The first new Spirit of Tasmania ship to carry paying passengers across Bass Strait arrived in Devonport to a long-awaited welcome this morning, Pulse Tasmania reported.
The ship sailed into the Mersey River after leaving Geelong last night with its first paying passengers on board.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who was among those who made the crossing, described the arrival as “a dawn to a new era”. He said the project had faced “troubled waters” but the government had “stayed the course”.
“All major projects have their issues and this one certainly had its challenges,” he said.
“We’ve got here and some very capable people picked up the mantle and got it done.”
He thanked TT-Line’s new board, chief executive Chris Carbone and the crew.
Mr Carbone told Pulse that passenger feedback had been “really amazing”, with many people commenting on the Tasmanian artwork and the size of the ship. He described the mood on board overnight as an “absolute party atmosphere”.
“The crew were just so excited to see everyone being so happy and celebrating that inaugural voyage,” he said.
“I’m sure there’s a few sore heads floating around the ship this morning.”
Mr Carbone said his 18 months with the state-owned company had been a “recovery job”, but he was proud of his team for reaching this point.
“Everyone’s pulled together and pulled off what we achieved last night and every night from here on,” he said.
“Smooth sailing ahead.”
Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent said the arrival was “a pretty iconic moment”. He said around 70 motorbikes and many caravans were on board, and some passengers planned to tour the state for up to three months.
Andrew, a truck driver returning home to Sheffield, told Pulse the trip was “absolutely fantastic” and the new ship was much bigger and wider than the old one.
“Tad rocky, but nothing more than normal for the Bass Strait,” he said.
The new ships entered service years later than planned, after delays and cost blowouts. Last week, TT-Line reported a $723 million loss for 2025-26, including a $368 million write-down on the value of the vessels.
Correction, 3 November 2026: An earlier version of this story named the arriving ship as Spirit of Tasmania V and said Spirit of Tasmania IV had left Devonport at the same time. Published reports disagree about which of the two new ships made which crossing, so this version does not name it. The headline has been changed to match. The earlier version also gave a street address and opening date for the new terminal that were not in our source, and it carried an illustration of farmland rather than the ship or Devonport. These have been removed.