- MS Spirit of Tasmania II
MS "Spirit of Tasmania II" is a fast
ropax ferry owned byTT-Line Pty. Ltd. and operated on the route fromMelbourne and Devonport. She was built in 1998 byKvaerner Masa-Yards Turku inFinland forSuperfast Ferries as MS "Superfast III". From 2002 onwards she sails forTT-Line Pty. Ltd. as MS "Spirit of Tasmania II".Concept and construction
The "Superfast III" was the first ship of the second pair (the former pair being Superfast I and Superfast II built in Germany) built for
Attica Group 's subsidiarySuperfast Ferries atKvaerner Masa-Yards for theirAdriatic Sea services fromPatras toAncona . She was a sister ship of MS|Superfast IV.ervice history
1998—2002: "Superfast III"
The "Superfast III" entered service on
16 March 1998 on Superfast Ferries'Patras —Ancona route . on1 Nov 1999 on route from Patras to Ancona a fire broke out in freezer trailer on the vehicle deck, most likely in the electrical system. The ship's vehicle deck drenching system along with crew put the blaze out. All 307 passengers and 106 crew were evacuated and picked up by nearby shipscite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/503076.stm
title= Stowaways die in ferry fire |accessdate=2008-05-20 |last= |first= |format= |work=BBC News |language=in English ] . The ship arrived back in Patras the day after the disaster, and the investigation began. During the investigation they found 14 dead bodies in a truckcite web |url=http://raflucgr.ra.funpic.de/spirit_of_tasmania_i1.htm |title= Spirit of Tasmania II |accessdate=2008-05-20 |last= Latreche |first=Lucas |format= |work=Ferries And Cruse Ships |language=in English ] , it was later found out that they wererefugees fromKurdistan weeks later once the investigations has finished the Superfast III set sail for the Blohm + Voss shipyards inHamburg ,Germany for repairs where she arrived on3 December . The repairs went for 96 days and costAttica Enterprises US$26 million. On3 March she arrived back in Greece and once again operated the Patras - Ancona route.In March 2002 the "Superfast III" was sold toTT-Line Pty. Ltd. .2002 Onwards: "Spirit of Tasmania II"
TT-Line took over their new ship on
10 May 2002, along with her sister ship "Superfast IV" she was handed over toTT-Line Pty. Ltd. atPatras . The two ships then sailed to the Neorion ship yard on the island ofSyros for painting and general overhauling and was renamed "Spirit of Tasmania II". She subsequently sailed toHobart ,Tasmania , where she was refitted for her new service. On1 September 2002 she entered service on TT-Line'sMelbourne —Devonport route.References
External links
* [http://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au/ Spirit of Tasmania official website]
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