The Sydney to Devonport ferry, Spirit of Tasmania III, is to be sold.
Tasmania’s Premier, Paul Lennon, announced the Cabinet decision yesterday afternoon.
Mr Lennon says the loss-making ferry must be sold to prevent TT-Line from becoming insolvent and Cabinet has approved an additional $22 million to divest the ship.
“Spirit of Tasmania 3 was a bold experiment to try and penetrate in a big way a new market but it hasn’t worked,” Mr Lennon said.
The Tasmanian Government has spent more than $65 million propping up the service, which has been running for two-and-a-half years.
Mr Lennon says he does not regret ignoring advice to sell the ship during that time. The Government will now spend $31 million to bolster tourism and marketing in Tasmania and $22 million to help retire Spirit 3’s $100 million debt and pay redundancies.
“The North-West Coast can be assured that the Tasmanian Government is very much committed, as I told the mayors when I saw them last week, to supporting regional tourism in that region,” Mr Lennon said.
Tourism Minister Paula Wriedt will meet with mayors, tourist operators and other businesses in the North-West to devise a marketing and promotions plan, to be approved by the Government.
The two Melbourne ferries will be retained.
