Berthing infrastructure for the new larger Spirit of Tasmania vessels is now expected to cost nearly half a billion dollars. The latest cost blowout was revealed today as a parliamentary committee continues its inquiry into the ships replacement project that has already cost TT-Line executives and a former deputy premier their jobs.
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00:00Tasmania's biggest boat bungle just hit another $100 million snag.
00:08The board on the 28th of April endorsed a formal cost estimate for the project of $493 million.
00:17The previous $375 million estimate for birth infrastructure for the new spirit of Tasmania vessels blown out of the water.
00:26So too the original $90 million estimate described as
00:32by Transport Minister Erica Betts who says it was a
00:36by old TT line management who've since been shown the door.
00:41The government and I are comfortable, we are now receiving robust and accurate advice.
00:46It's another blow to the public purse which has been left battered and bruised by the spirit saga
00:51with cost blowouts and delays hitting the ships themselves too.
00:55The silver lining that the Premier's best case scenario of having the new ships in service by October 2026 appears to be tracking well.
01:05This is good news. The government has always said it would pursue every opportunity to bring forward the timeframe.
01:12Today's announcement is not a new announcement. They said best case October 2026 and that's what's going to happen.
01:18The first of the new boats, Spirit 4 has been idling in Scotland for six months at a cost of more than $3 million.
01:27It will depart later this month and arrive here in Hobart in July for its final fit out.
01:33As for where it and its sister boat Spirit 5 will be stored until they start work, all options are still being considered.
01:42We've also almost been inundated by expressions of interest from other ports around Australia
01:48but the vessel can easily go to anchor out in the river.
01:51A spirit sitting here for a year? Not off the table.
01:55Propriety, the boats stop putting the ships off the table.
01:59It's probably not how the ships have been Behindre than we can travel through the będziemy with information on the planet,
02:02rather than we can travel through the ship as we also best to see the ships of the ships of the ships after ticks at a time.
02:07Certificate is not the ships aircraft Service 2 has sent sales.