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Bass Strait Blues

Phil Northeast
3 August 2002

 This stretch of water plays an important part in the lives of most Tasmanians. Bass Strait separates our island state from the Australian continent and the only way across is to fly or by sea.
Tourism is a major Tasmanian industry and Bass Strait presents a double-edged sword. The separation creates a difference and uniqueness that is one of the island’s major drawcards. This separation makes it harder for people to holiday here.

Australian's love their cars and will travel long distances on the federally funded National Highway One, connecting all the nation's capital cities.
One popular holiday is a "Fly-Drive" where travellers fly in and then tour the state in a rented car. This is fine for the upper end of the market and those on short stays.

Devil Cat on a North Amercian Run

The alternative is a 400 km trip on one of the ferries currently connecting Tasmania to Melbourne.
The main ship is the Spirit of Tasmania, a conventional "roll on roll off" steel monohull  crossing the strait every night, carrying a mix of cars trucks, and of course passengers. This is a slow but regular service and passengers need accommodation, adding to the expense, but for holidaymakers it's all part of the adventure. 

Over recent summers, the ferry operators have trailed one of the new wave piercing aluminium catamarans on the route. The Devil Cat is fast enough to make the crossing twice and in daylight hours providing a daily service in each direction without the need for sleeping accommodation for the passengers .

This is how the operators describe the journey;
Experience the exhilaration of crossing Bass Strait at 80 kph in Australia's largest commercial high-speed catamaran. As one of the fastest passenger ships of its type in the world, it will whisk you from Victoria to Tassie in just 6 hours. Built in Hobart, the 91 metre Devil Cat holds 740 passengers and 200 cars. 

This is a revolutionary design for a fast ferry. While it is described as a catamaran, it is really a form of trimaran, or a three-hulled vessel. The two outer hulls are designed to support the vessel and are sealed to allow wave tops to break over them, hence the wave-piercing name. The middle hull, that carries the passengers and vehicles, sits out of the water and the wave tops pass below it, usually providing a fast, smooth ride. 

Bass Strait lies in the "Roaring Forties" and here the Southern Ocean swells encounter relatively shallow water. The change in water depth turns the long ocean swells into taller waves with much steeper fronts. 

Because of its wave perching design the front of the boat does not rise quickly, so when the waves get too tall the main hull hits the top of the wave. This dramatically slows the vessel, making it uncomfortable for the passengers. The boats can handle the conditions, as they are incredibly strong; during sea trials, one hit some shallow rocks at high speed. The only real problem was that the boat ended up beached on the rocks and took a major effort to pull it clear. It was a very severe, and unintentional, demonstration of the structural integrity of the design. However, Australian maritime authorities introduced regulations that prevent the Cats from operating when the wave heights on any part of the route exceed a certain height. Hence, the TT-line have this disclaimer; 

PLEASE NOTE: Devil Cat is subject to operating regulations which may on occasion lead to cancellations during severe weather and sea conditions. We recommend travellers purchase appropriate travel insurance as TT-Line will assume no financial obligations for passengers delayed due to weather conditions. 

Only a few crossings have been cancelled in the trial period, but they have created a negative reaction and publicity as the service has been under scrutiny with the impending choice of a replacement for the ageing Spirit loomed. When choosing what sort of ferries to buy the State Government owned TT-line has had to balance supporting, the local ship builder with the need to provide reliable transport that would boost the tourist industry. 

A problem with the Devil Cat is  it was never built for the unique requirements of the Bass Strait run. The designers and builders, International Catamarans, have never built a boat specifically for Bass Strait and they are reluctant to spend millions of dollars on a special boat unless they have a buyer. 

In the end, the TT-line came down on the side of a proven design with the decision to buy two near new fast conventional ferries. They still require an overnight crossing but with two, they provide a daily crossing in both directions at peak periods. 

They are longer, narrower and lighter than the Spirit, resulting in a faster vessel cutting the crossing time to 10 hours from the present 14.5 hours. Each new ferry carries more passengers and significantly more cars; 650 compared to 350. 

For current information on sailing schedules and fares, visit the TT-lines web site.