MS ''Spirit of Tasmania I'' is a

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

operated by

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 ...

between

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 Devonport in Australia. Built in 1998 by

Kvaerner Masa-Yards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, Finland, Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbu ...

at Turku New Shipyard in Finland for

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 ...

as MS ''Superfast IV'', since 2002 she has sailed for TT-Line as MS ''Spirit of Tasmania I''.

Concept and construction

The ''Superfast IV'' was the second ship of the second pair (the former pair being '' Superfast I'' and '' Superfast II'') built for

for its

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

services from

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

She was a sister ship of '' Superfast III''. Spirit of Tasmania 1 bulbous bow

Spirit of Tasmania 1 multilingual info sign 1

Spirit of Tasmania 1 multilingual info sign 3

Amenities and deck layout

''Spirit of Tasmania I'' has 11 decks, with 222 cabins. *Decks 1 to 6 are used to hold cars and trucks. The fore-ends of Decks 1 and 2 are accessed via a ramp from deck 3 (The aft-end space of the two decks houses the ships machinery). Deck 6 holds cars using a hoistable platform. *Deck 7 has cabins, a reception area, small movie theater, lounge bar, gaming lounge, gift shop, tourism bureau, main bar, two restaurants and a children's playroom. *Deck 8 has cabins and an ocean recliner area. *Deck 9 is mainly crew area. *Deck 10 has a bar and disco area. *Deck 11 has a helicopter landing pad.

Service history

1998–2002: ''Superfast IV''

The ''Superfast IV'' entered service on 1 April 1998 on Superfast Ferries'

service. In March 2002 the ''Superfast IV'' was sold to

2002 Onwards: ''Spirit of Tasmania I''

TT-Line took over its new ship on 10 May of the same year, she along with her sister were handed over to TT-Line at Patras. The two ships then sailed to the Neorion ship yard on the island of Syros for painting and general overhaul and renamed ''Spirit of Tasmania I''. She subsequently sailed to

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 ...

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

, where she was refitted for her new service. On 1 September 2002 she entered service on TT-Line's

to Devonport service. In 2015 she was refurbished in Devonport.

2005 event

During the night of 3 to 4 February 2005 ''Spirit of Tasmania I'' ran into heavy seas in the

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 ...

while sailing from Melbourne to Devonport. At approximately 02:00 the seas reached a height of 20 metres. The seas smashed cabin windows on the starboard bow and subsequently cabin walls were smashed down, flooding cabin decks as high as deck 9 (the deck under the bridge). Many passengers were unaware of the cause of water in their cabins as the water disabled the public announcement system. The captain decided it best to return to Melbourne, arriving mid morning to heavy media coverage. The ship remained in port overnight for temporary repairs and sailed again the following evening for Devonport.

References

External links

*
Spirit of Tasmania I – Ferries of Tasmania
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit of Tasmania I Bass Strait ferries Ferries of Australia Ships built in Turku Superfast III-class fast ropax ferries 1998 ships