That's the Spirit(s)

‘Tis the Season to be Merry, but not for those in charge of the Spirit of Tasmania debacle which has already claimed the scalp of a Minister and Deputy Premier, a long-standing CEO, and, in turn, has put the minority state government on course with a political iceberg.

It’s difficult to think of a bigger bureaucratic bungle than the Spirit of Tasmania IV, but that’s the spirit(s).

There are also rumors circulating that the new Spirits won’t fit in the Mersey River at Devonport without significant dredging. The hull may well be too deep meaning that the sand and mud will need to be removed to make room. For Launceston residents we know only too well of the impediments to the regular dredging of an estuary system.

This is a script you could not write.

The English and the Scots did exactly what we would do during the week – made fun of our comical mismanagement.  STV News (Scottish Television) led with “ferry fiasco” informing us that the ferry was now "lying in the Forth in the Port of Leith".

And to rub salt into the wounds, the clip concludes with an Australian colloquialism, depicting our relaxed attitude when things go wrong: ‘She’ll be right, mate’.

The Spirit of Tasmanian IV and V were ordered from Finish shipbuilders Rauma Marine Constructions in Rauma, with the latter still under construction.

Leaving Spirit IV in Finland is not an option because the icy conditions during the winter months in the arctic circle will more than likely cause damage.

“The government says the ferry owners, TT-Line, secured a berth for at least 30 days at an average weekly cost of $47,534 ‘plus ancillary services’ (totalling $190,136),” the ABC reported.

However, if, as rumoured, the ferry is stuck in Scotland until 2026, the cost could escalate to 12million GBP ($23million AUD).

And to make matters worse, the ship cannot be used to gain revenue because it’s simply too big for the voyages required where it is moored.

This is a “fiasco” of the highest and most embarrassing proportions.

So where is this place that Spirit IV will call home, for now.

Leith, not to be confused with Leith on the Forth River in North West Tasmania just 10kilmetres from Ulverstone, is a port town steeped in history.

Leith, at the mouth of the Water of Leith and home to the Port of Leith, was originally under the management of the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh. In 1833 it became its own borough only to be reunited with Edinburgh in 1920.

Like many cities and towns across Tasmania, Leith is located at a confluence of rivers and estuaries intriguingly known as the Firth of Forth including the Firth Estuary and the Forth River.

The Ward of the City of Edinburgh Council is on the south-east coast of Scotland to the north of the capital city. It is a changing town, much like Hobart, from a working port to a combination of industry and tourism with pubs, eateries, and a buzzing nightlife on the waterfront.

But Leith also has a chequered history much like Hobart Town and further south, Port Arthur. 

In 1845 the Edinburgh Plague, a combination of a bubonic plague delivering sores and blisters and boils and a pneumonic plague which attacked the lungs causing internal bleeding and great suffering, killed half of the inhabitants (about 3000). With no sewage system, rats feasted on the waste and,once infected, fleas transmitted the disease throughout the overcrowded town. The death toll was significant so treating the bodies with respect was nigh on impossible.

During the next 170 odd years Leith was modernised on a mass burial ground, ‘plague pits’ as they were grotesquely known, covering the bodies of those who perished.

It wasn’t until 2016 that the burial site of 79 victims was discovered at St Mary’s RC Primary School. 23 of the dead were children.

The bodies were exhumed and reburied in 2018 at Rosebank Cemetery.

Of course, much like our historic sites, ghost stories are now part of the tours of Leith. Let’s hope this is a far different Spirit to our own.

Leith was also a port where pirates were hanged. After pilfering wealth on the high seas, the pirates would head to Leith in the hope of anonymity before heading to London. Unfortunately for them they weren’t anonymous, and to the gallows they were sent.

Fast forward to modern times and the Scots didn’t even have to pirate our ship, rather, we gifted them our bounty and they locked in the payment of goal coins for potentially two years in return.

When we were growing up, Tasmania was the brunt of jokes. We all worked hard to turn that around, growing our tourism sector and developing experiences and wine and food that grabbed the attention of the world.

But now with the “ferry fiasco” we must begin again to overcome the state government’s bungle and the utter embarrassment it has caused.

In response, the premier has sent in serial board member, a Mr Fixit, and the consummate night watchman, Mr Damien Bugg AM KC as interim chair of TT Line.

He immediately articulated the mistakes made and answered questions with a straight bat.

I can’t wait for the movie…