Record caravans sail on Tassie Spirit ferries

Wondering why it's been so hard to get a spot for your tow vehicle and caravan on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry crossing lately?

Strong recent bookings by RV travellers for the Bass Strait crossing has been confirmed by the Tasmania Government, with a record number of day sailings carrying a significant increase in caravans and motorhomes over the 2022-23 period.

Tasmanian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson, said day sailings have proven to be highly popular for caravans and motorhomes, and in 2022-23 ferry operator TT Line had 199 day sailings compared to 145 day sailings the previous year.

"This was an absolute record number of day sailings for the company, eclipsing the previous record of 169," he said.

"In 2022-23, TT-Line carried a total of 17,413 caravans and 11,903 motorhomes and campervans. This is an increase of almost 50 per cent respectively from 2021-22 and is above pre-COVID levels where we saw demand of around 15,000 caravans and 11,000 motorhomes each year."

The government-backed TT-Line company made a profit of $8.6 million for 2022-23, following on from a loss of $14 million in the prior period. Total revenue increased to $307.1 million – up from $240.8 million in 2021-22 -- as a result of a more than 50 per cent increase in passengers from 284,000 to over 450,000 in 2022-23.

Following the Victorian departure point moving from Melbourne to Geelong recently, the ageing Spirit of Tasmania fleet will soon be replaced by shiny new ships with more deck space to provide greater access and room for more caravans, camper trailers and motorhomes to make the trip across Bass Strait.

"Capacity will increase with the arrival of two new ships – Spirit of Tasmania IV and V. There will be 40 per cent more capacity and all lanes will be higher than 2.1 metres so there will be no limit on which lanes can be used by caravans," Mr Ferguson said.