A new 212m-long Bass Strait ferry involved in a port bungle dubbed the nation's biggest infrastructure stuff-up has arrived in Australian waters.
Spirit of Tasmania IV, one of two replacement vessels, won't be operational until late 2026, years behind schedule, because the island state government hasn't yet built a berth.
The ship left Scotland on June 30, after being kept there for months during an unsuccessful leasing bid.
It arrived on Tuesday in Fremantle in Western Australia, as part of formal vessel importation procedures and for a change of crew and to pick up fresh supplies.
A final fit-out, including the installation of mattresses, tabletops and artworks, will occur in Hobart following its expected docking on August 23.
The Tasmanian government has stumped up more than $4.3 million to store the ship in Scotland.
The state's Labor opposition previously labelled the failure of the ships' government-owned operator to build a berth in time as the "biggest infrastructure stuff-up in Australia's history".
Costs for the berth at Devonport in Tasmania's northwest, expected to be completed by October 2026, have blown out from $90 million to $493 million.
The saga resulted in Michael Ferguson resigning as deputy premier and infrastructure minister and moving to the backbench in October 2024.
The second new Spirit of Tasmania ship was handed over from its Finnish builder to operator TT-Line in June.
TT-Line CEO Chris Carbone said the arrival of Spirit of Tasmania IV in Fremantle was a significant milestone.
"Spirit of Tasmania IV and V are generational investments that will ultimately benefit the broader Tasmanian economy and the visitor economy," he said.
"We are obviously very excited about the new vessels - their increased size is important, which will allow for greater capacity for passengers, vehicles, caravans and freight."
