I noticed the Spirit of Tasmania has been mentioned, didn't see...

I noticed the Spirit of Tasmania has been mentioned, didn't see the original replacement contract with RMC (Finland) is on hold. The new build was to be of the order 48kGT (existing ships ~29kGT 5600DWT 200x25m) with about a 40% increase in capacities. But the Liberal Tasmanian state government is now reassessing local options and churning out spin with their friends in Canberra.

https://ferryshippingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/The_Next_Generation_Spirits_of_Tasmania_Web.01.pdf



Seems like shenanigans to push out the existing contracts, and doesn't strike me as politically wise. Not sure how serious they could possibly be, the only local players are Austal and Incat, with local options already considered previously (by Libs themselves in 2017), TT Line backing the existing arrangement (developed over three years), and new dock facilities in Geelong based around the new designs.

https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/7045554/spirit-boss-pours-cold-water-on-australian-built-ship-proposals/
https://tict.com.au/documents/199/Submission_to_Vessel_Replacement_Task_Force.pdf
https://taslabor.com/spirit-of-tasmania-ferry-replacement-the-real-story/

Incat is pushing a cat as a complement the existing ships - not a chance in hell.

Austal on the other hand says it can meet the requirements of the TT Line's vessel replacement strategy, being a pair of steel monohulls with about a 70/40% increase in passenger/freight vehicle lane metres and 43/61% increase in cabins/recliners. They claim they could do this by building the hulls in the Phillipines and completing fit out in Australia, but I don't quite buy it (much larger than existing works at Cebu).

How capable at present would Austal really be at constructing such a hull in the Phillipines, and of fitting out in Australia?