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Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry enters second month of storage at Leith, Scotland

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Spirit of Tasmania IV is being stored in a Scottish port as operator TT-Line tries to find someone to lease the vessel. (Supplied: Dennis Conaghan)

In short:

The newly built Spirit of Tasmania IV will continue to be stored in a Scottish port for at least another month.

The Tasmanian government made the announcement in its regular update of the Spirit of Tasmania ferry replacement project.

What's next?

The state opposition is continuing to call for the ferry to be berthed in Hobart, or another Tasmanian port, while infrastructure to accommodate the two replacement ferries is completed in Devonport.

One of the newly completed Spirit of Tasmania ferries will continue to be stored at a port in Scotland for at least another month after state-owned operator TT-Line failed to find someone to lease the ship.

Spirit IV, built in Finland but unable to be used on the Devonport-to-Geelong run until infrastructure in its home port of Devonport is completed, was moved to the Leith port in Edinburgh a month ago.

Releasing its regular update on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry replacement project, the state government said TT-Line, through a specialist broker, was continuing to look into options to lease or charter the vessel to a third party.

"The ship remains in Leith, Scotland, while this work continues, with TT-Line extending its lease a further 30 days at an average weekly cost of $23,915, plus ancillary costs," the government said in a statement.

"This is significantly less than the cost of berthing the vessel for the first 30 days, which was at a weekly cost of $47,534 plus ancillary costs."

Spirit V is still under construction in Finland.

Berth infrastructure to accommodate the vessels in Devonport is estimated to be completed in 2027.

The government maintains keeping the ferry in Scotland will give it the best chance of being leased while the port infrastructure is built.

The state opposition has repeated its calls for the ship to be stored in Tasmania.

"Hobart's been mentioned [as a suitable port to store the vessel]. But, also, you have other ports around the state," Labor MLC Luke Edmunds said on Friday.

"TT-Line, TasPorts, even the government has not disputed that [the ships] can be kept in Tasmania.

"Let's bring them home … it's costing us $600,000 a month [in port fees in Scotland]."

Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry enters second month of storage at Leith, Scotland

Spirit of Tasmania IV cannot be berthed in Devonport until port infrastructure is completed, which is not expected to happen until 2027. (Supplied)

Labor has said the $600,000 per month includes $380,000 in crew costs, $190,000 in storage costs, plus additional ancillary costs, broker fees and the cost of "pointless advertising in local newspapers".

The government said crewing costs would be incurred regardless of where the vessel was stored.

"Crewing costs in Tasmania would be significantly higher due to differing domestic requirements, resulting in increased onboard crew numbers," it said in a statement.

Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry enters second month of storage at Leith, Scotland

The state opposition wants the ferry stored in Tasmania, but the government says crewing costs would be higher. (Supplied: Dennis Conaghan)

Advice from ship broker expected by the end of January

TT-Line appointed European ship broker Clarksons in late December to help find someone to lease the ship.

TT-Line interim chair Damian Bugg told parliament early in December that the first broker the state-owned company engaged with indicated there was "not a strong likelihood" that Spirit IV — and Spirit V when it was finished — would be leased.

Mr Bugg said TT-Line then decided to explore other options and appointed Clarksons.

Advice from Clarksons is expected to be provided to the government by TT-Line by the end of this month.

Mr Bugg has previously said if there were no viable options, Spirit IV would be brought to Tasmania.

Spirit of Tasmania IV ferry enters second month of storage at Leith, Scotland

Spirit of Tasmania IV will spend another 30 days at least mothballed in Scotland. (BBC/Eurovision)

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