MS ''Spirit of Tasmania II'' 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 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 Geelong 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, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companie ...

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 III'', since 2002 she has sailed for TT-Line as MS ''Spirit of Tasmania II''.

Concept and construction

The ''Superfast III'' was the first 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 to

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 ...

. She was a sister ship of '' Superfast IV''.

Amenities and deck layout

''Spirit of Tasmania II'' has 11 decks, with 222 cabins. *Decks 1 to 6 are used to hold cars and trucks. The for-end of Decks 1 and 2 are accessed via a ramp from deck 3 (The Aft-end space of the two decks houses the ship's 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 III''

The ''Superfast III'' entered service on 16 March 1998 on Superfast Ferries' Patras to

service. On 1 November 1999 en route from Patras to Ancona a fire broke out in a freezer trailer on the vehicle deck, most likely in the electrical system. The ship's vehicle deck drenching system along with crew put the blaze out. All 307 passengers and 106 crew were evacuated and picked up by nearby ships. The ship arrived back in Patras the day after the disaster, and investigations began. Fourteen dead bodies were found in a truck. These bodies were later identified as refugees from

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages ...

. After the investigations had concluded, the ''Superfast III'' set sail for the

Blohm+Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Linn Blohm (born 1992), Swedish hand ...

shipyards in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany for repairs, arriving there on 3 December. The repairs took 71 days during which 450 tons of steel, 84 km of cable, 1,200 m² of insulation material and cladding were replaced, and a new tilting ramp and new public areas were installed. The cost to the underwriter ( Attica Enterprises) was US$26 million. On 3 March she arrived back in Greece and once again operated on the Patras to Ancona route. In March 2002 the ''Superfast III'' was sold to

2002 Onwards: ''Spirit of Tasmania II''

TT-Line took over their new ship on 10 May 2002. Along with her sister ship '' Superfast IV'', she was handed over to TT-Line at Patras. The two ships then sailed to the

Neorion Neorion is one of the oldest Greek heavy industries, located in Ermoupolis, on the Greek island of Syros. Today, it is one of the few remaining major industrial corporations in what used to be the industrial and commercial center of Greece, befo ...

ship yard on the island of

Syros Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census). The largest towns are Ermoupoli, An ...

. During the ship's dry docking, works such as painting the new livery and superstructure, as well as a general overhaul were carried out. At the yard she was renamed ''Spirit of Tasmania II''. She subsequently sailed to Hobart,

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

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 ...

to Devonport service. Between 21 July and 8 August 2014 the ship was docked for maintenance at the Captain Cook Graving Dock in Sydney. In 2015 it was refurbished in Devonport. On 13 January 2016, the ship broke from her moorings at Station Pier, Melbourne during a storm and was withdrawn for repairs.Spirit of Tasmania breaks free from its moorings at Station Pier
'' The Mercury'' 14 January 2016 The ship was repaired and re-entered service on 17 January.

References

External links

Spirit of Tasmania official websiteSpirit of Tasmania II - Ferries of Tasmania
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2019 Bass Strait ferries Ferries of Australia Ships built in Turku Superfast III-class fast ropax ferries 1998 ships