By
Laura Hyde |
Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) shipyard in Finland has launched and christened Spirit of Tasmania IV, the first of two identical car and passenger ferries ordered by the Tasmania’s TT-Line Company for operations between Australia and Tasmania.
The vessel was christened at the shipyard by godmother Deborah Grainger from Australia using Jansz Vintage Cuvee, sparkling wine from Tasmania. The christening took place exactly one year after the keel laying ceremony in October 2022.
The shipyard will now begin work on the vessel’s interiors, and finish the plumbing and electrics.
“We are excited to start a new phase in the construction of the vessel as the work shifts from building the ship’s hull to interior work and systems implementation,” said Johanna Kaijo, project manager of Spirit of Tasmania at RMC. “This also means that we are able to start constructing Spirit of Tasmania V’s hull in the construction pool.”
The sister vessels are specially designed to undertake the challenging route across the Bass Strait between Geelong, Victoria, in southeastern Australia and Devonport in Tasmania. Both ferries are scheduled to begin operations in 2024.