Huge Australian ferry too big to fit in home port to be mothballed in Scottish city

The Spirit of Tasmania IV, which measures 212 metres long, is to be stored in the Port of Leith, due to it being unable to fit in the existing berths in the Australian city of Devonport.

A new berth designed to accommodate the ferry will not be ready until late 2026 or into 2027.

Although it was constructed in a shipyard in Finland, it is feared it could be damaged by the freezing winter there.

The fiasco has sparked ridicule and criticism in Australia, with opposition leader Dean Winter dubbing it the "biggest infrastructure stuff-up" in the state’s history.

Parallels have also been drawn with the “ferry fiasco” in Scotland, where state-owned ferries company CMAL ordered ships that were too large to fit existing infrastructure.

The idea of leasing out the ferry to Scottish authorities has been mooted by Australian ferry company TT-line, however, the sheer size means it is unlikely to be able to be used on routes in Scotland, where new ferries are urgently needed.

TT-Line chief executive Bernard Dwyer said the ferry needed to be moved to a new location due to pack ice expected in the Finnish shipyard town of Rauma.

"To ensure the vessel’s safety and preservation, we will temporarily relocate it to Leith, Scotland, where conditions are more suitable," he said.

"This move is necessary, as the vessel is not designed for the extremely low ambient temperatures anticipated in Rauma."

He added the construction timeline of the second new vessel, Spirit of Tasmania V, would not be affected.

Tasmania premier Jeremy Rockliff previously said he would look into leasing the ferry - and had not ruled out storing it in Tasmania.

“Once complete and ready to enter service, the TT-Line will look to lease or charter the new Spirits, and has employed a broker to find suitable options,” he said.

“If no appropriate option is found and the vessels need to be stored in Tasmania -we will ensure that TasPorts will not charge TT-Line to do so.”

“By leasing the vessels, Tasmanians will benefit financially and avoid the need to incur further maintenance and storage costs.”

Both TT-Line and ports firm TasPorts are state-owned, and in August the infrastructure minister, Michael Ferguson, and TT-line chairman, Mike Grainger, both resigned.

A spokesperson for Forth Ports said: "The Port of Leith regularly provides berthing arrangements for vessels requiring temporary layup. Discussions about the Spirit of Tasmania IV are at an advanced stage and likely to result in the vessel being berthed in the Port of Leith for a period of time."