Spirit of Tasmania V officially named and launched

The second of the new Bass Strait passenger, passenger vehicle and freight vessels, Spirit of Tasmania V, has been officially named and launched at a traditional ceremony at shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions’ (RMC) yards in Finland.

At the ceremony, the Governor of Tasmania, Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC, formally named the ship Spirit of Tasmania V and broke a bottle of Tasmanian sparkling wine on her bow.

The maritime ceremony to name the ship is a long-standing tradition that brings good fortune to the vessel on her voyages.

After the official naming ceremony, Her Excellency joined RMC and Spirit of Tasmania project team members, and other VIPs, to open multiple valves to let water flow into the dry dock which eventually saw the ship float for the first time.

The Tasmanian Governor said it was a real honour to be involved in the official naming ceremony and to mark the occasion by breaking a bottle of Tasmanian sparkling wine across the bow.

“I am obviously delighted and honoured to have been asked to play this role for this vessel on behalf of the state of Tasmania,” she said.

“The new Spirit of Tasmania vessels will be a major contributor to Tasmania’s visitor economy and the broader Tasmanian economy for many years to come.”

Spirit of Tasmania V is the second of two new vessels ordered by Spirit of Tasmania to replace the existing Bass Strait passenger, passenger vehicle and freight ships.

The new vessels will have an overall length of 212-metres and a beam of 31-metres, compared to the current ships that are 194.33-metres-long overall with a beam of 25-metres.

Spirit of Tasmania Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Dwyer said he was delighted to witness the launch of the second new Spirit of Tasmania vessels.

“The new vessels are the first purpose-built for Spirit of Tasmania for operation on Bass Strait,” he said.

“While they look very similar to the current vessels, they are much bigger and have substantially larger capacity for passengers, passenger vehicles and freight.”