National

Ferries drop in value in Spirit of Tasmania write-down

By Ethan James

Oct 23, 2026

The Spirit of Tasmania II has been in service for more than 20 years. -AAP Image

Beleaguered Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line faces recouping less money than expected from the sale of its two soon-to-be-replaced old ferries.

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The Tasmanian-government-owned company on Friday publicised its financial statement for 2025/26, showing a $646.9 million write-down of assets.

Two new larger vessels will make their maiden Bass Strait crossings on October 31, years behind schedule due to an infrastructure stuff-up dubbed the worst in Australia's history.

In 2024, it was revealed the two vessels would have to sit idle because a new berth at Devonport in Tasmania wouldn't be ready in time for the ships.

TT-Line is in advanced negotiations with multiple parties to sell the two old ships, which have been in service for more than 20 years.

Based on two external reports, their value had dropped from $174.3 million to $87.5 million, the company said.

Middle East unrest dampening demand for assets, interest rates and the old ships' style of fuel use had contributed to the decline, TT-Line chair Ken Kanofski said.

"There are a few issues that I think are important to why the price of the old ships might be perhaps a bit lower than previously expected," he told reporters.

The overall write down includes the drop in value of the two new ships ($1.086 billion to $717.9 million), the Devonport terminal ($416.8 million to $282.8 million), and the Geelong terminal ($311 million to $262.1 million).

The company recorded $1.55 million profit in 2025/26 and had a strong outlook with the new ferries and facilities expected to deliver growth, Mr Kanofski said.

"In simple terms, we are talking about accounting catching up with well-known financial challenges of the company," he said.

The drop in the new ships' value was akin to "driving a car out of the showroom".

TT-Line's replacement ferry project, first announced in 2017, has been $717 million over the initial estimate.

The price tag for the new Devonport berth blew out to $493 million from an initial estimate of $90 million.

TT-Line has also been forced to fork out millions of dollars to hold the new ferries in berths, including in Scotland, Victoria and Tasmania, while the terminal was under construction.

The company, which has had questions raised about its solvency, was given a $506 million bailout in the 2026/27 state budget delivered in May.