“Although the actual construction of the first ferry started today, RMC and Spirit of Tasmania already have a long history. The pandemic, among other things, disrupted our plans, but the agreement for the vessels was re-signed in 2021. We are particularly glad that our joint journey, which has lasted more than a decade, finally reached this important milestone. Therefore, I would like to thank Spirit of Tasmania for trusting our local expertise in shipbuilding,” saysJyrki Heinimaa, CEO and president of RMC.

The vessels will hold 1,800 passengers each and their gross tonnage will be approximately 48,000 metric tons. The new vessels will replace similarly Finnish-built sister ships, SPIRIT OF TASMANIA I and SPIRIT OF TASMANIA II from the late 1990s. The first vessel, SPIRIT OF TASMANIA IV will be finished in late 2023 and the second, SPIRIT OF TASMANIA V in late 2024.

Bernard Dwyer, CEO and Managing Director of Spirit of Tasmania says “This is a significant moment for Tasmania and for the Tasmanian economy. When completed, the vessel’s arrival in late 2023 will mark the start of a new era for passenger travel and freight transport across Bass Strait,” he said.

“While the new ships will be a similar design to the current Spirit of Tasmania vessels, they will feature substantially larger capacity for passengers, passenger vehicles and freight.”

Spirit of Tasmania (TT-Line Company), the purchaser of the vessels, each year carry around 450,000 passengers between mainland Australia and Tasmania.

For the city of Rauma and the surrounding region, the design and construction of the vessels will create a total of around 3,500 person-years’ worth of employment. The vessels are being built while the shipyard also finalises a new car and passenger ferry for Tallink and builds new multipurpose corvettes for the Finnish Defence Forces’ Squadron 2020 project.

© Shippax