Bass Strait Ferries have been the ships that have been used for regular transport across

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

between

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in mainland Australia, as well as the various attempts to link Tasmania with

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Historically, some regular shipping services in the twentieth century linked Sydney,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

with the Bass Strait ports: Launceston's various port locations, Devonport and

Burnie Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban popul ...

. The distinction between coastal shipping and Bass Strait ferry has been blurred at times. At various stages the cost of shipping between Tasmania and the Australian mainland have caused enquiries and calls for subsidies or reduced rates of both ferries and general shipping.

History

In the 1840s the ''Launceston–Melbourne Steam Navigation Company'' was in business with ''Black Swan'', ''Royal Shepherd'' and ''Havilah''. The ''Shamrock'' at this time was engaged in a service between Sydney, Melbourne and Launceston

Tasmanian Steamers Tasmanian Steamers Proprietary Limited was a company that operated passenger ferries across the Bass Strait from 1921 to 1959. It was jointly owned by the Union Steam Ship Company and Huddart Parker. History The company was formed on 22 De ...

commenced in the 1920s with three ships. The ''Oonah'' (originally on the Sydney-Hobart route) was operated along with and until 1935 when ''Oonah'' and ''Loongana'' were replaced by the . In 1959 the

Australian National Line Australian National Line (ANL) was a coastal shipping line established in by the Government of Australia in 1956. It was sold in 1998 by the Howard government to CMA CGM. History Australian National Line was formed on 1 October 1956 as the ...

took over the service, and from 1959 to 1972, the made crossings between Melbourne and Devonport. The cargo-only ''Bass Trader'' carried heavy vehicles from Melbourne to Tasmania until the was added in 1969 with services from Melbourne to Burnie, Devonport and Bell Bay (Launceston) in rotation. From 1965 to 1972, the made three crossings per fortnight from Sydney to Hobart, Bell Bay and Burnie. In 1972 the ''Empress'' replaced the ''Princess'' on the Melbourne to Devonport route and the ''Australian Trader'' moved to the Sydney-Tasmania routes. The Tasmanian Government's

TT-Line TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...

took over the service from 1985 when the replaced the ''Empress'' and made six weekly overnight crossings between Devonport and Melbourne. It was replaced by the ''

Spirit of Tasmania 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 Depart ...

'' in 1993. In the summer months of 1998 to 2002, TT-Line in conjunction with SeaCat Tasmania, also operated the high speed catamaran ''

Devil Cat HSC ''INCAT 046'' was a wave-piercing catamaran passenger-vehicle ferry. It operated under various marketing names, including ''Devil Cat'', ''The Cat'', ''The Lynx'', and lastly ''The T&T Express''. Vessel characteristics HSC ''INCAT 046'' wa ...

'' between Port Welshpool, 200 kilometres south east of Melbourne and George Town near Bell Bay. The trip took six hours. Flinders island can also be reached by ferry from Bridport in Tasmania, and from Port Welshpool in Victoria.

2002 - Spirit of Tasmania I, II, III

In 2002 the ''Spirit'' was replaced with the two ferries previously owned by

Superfast Ferries Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 3 car-passenger ferries, offering daily connections between Anc ...

and , with two crossings each night leaving simultaneously from Melbourne and Devonport. From January 2004 to June 2006 a third ship, , operated on the Devonport to Sydney route.

2022 - Spirit of Tasmania IV, V

On 28 February 2022,

Rauma Marine Constructions 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. History Rauma Marine Constructions was established by private investors wi ...

(RMC), a shipbuilding company in Rauma, Finland, started construction of

Spirit of Tasmania IV ''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 Geelon ...

. The shipbuilder will also build

Spirit of Tasmania V ''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, ...

. TT-Line will introduce updated branding for the new ferries, but will keep the iconic red and white as the colour scheme. The new ferries are due to be delivered by the end of 2023. On the 23 October 2022, TT-Line moved its Victorian terminal from Station Pier in the Port of Melbourne to the new purpose built Spirit of Tasmania Quay in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Localities and ports

* Bell Bay *

* Devonport * Launceston *

Port of Melbourne The Port of Melbourne is the largest port for containerised and general cargo in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at the head of Port Phill ...

Ships

(chronological) * ''Black Swan'', ''Royal Shepherd'', ''Havilah'' and ''Derwent'' (1850s to 1870s) * ''Mangana'' and ''Flinders'' (from 1879) * ''Pateena'', ''Flora'' and ''Penguin'' (1880s) * SS ''Burrumbeet'' (from 1889) * SS ''Coogee'' (1890s) * SS ''Pateena'' * SS ''Rotomahana'' * SS ''City of Melbourne'' * SS ''Oonah'' * * * * * MS ''Bass Trader'' * Port of Launceston Authority (Tas.) & Thompson Clarke Shipping Consultants (1982). In Replacing the "Empress" : abridged proposal for a Bass Strait ferry service between Melbourne and Bell Bay. the Authority, aunceston/ref> * * * MS ''Spirit of Tasmania'' * HSC ''Devil Cat'' * * *

References

External links

* * * {{Australianferries, state=collapsed Ferries of Tasmania Ferries of Victoria (Australia) Maritime history of Australia