The new Spirit of Tasmania IV sitting in Hobart doing nothing much, shortly before being sent to Melbourne to do even less while it waits for the insanely incompetent Tasmanian authorities to finally make a dock in Devonport big enough to fit it.
In 2017-2018, after much delay and political dithering, Tasmania finally ordered two new ships from Germany for the Bass Strait run to replace the veteran Spirit I and Spirit II and enter service in 2021. For reasons only partly beyond their control, the order fell through. Later in 2021 two ships were ordered from Finland for delivery in 2024 and 2025.
Incredibly, the government failed to wonder whether the port facilities at Devonport were capable of taking the big new ships until after Spirit of Tasmania IV was completed in September 2024. The new ship has sat idle ever since and isn’t expected to enter service until early 2027. Meanwhile, her sistership Spriit of Tasmania V is floating equally uselessly at anchor somewhere in Europe. Both are rusting away while they wait for the buffons in government to complete construction of a new dock.