By Professor John Robertson OBA

From BBC Scotland today:

A newly-constructed Australian ferry will be moved from Edinburgh to the other side of the world after leasing negotiations broke down. Often described as a “fiasco”, the Spirit of Tasmania IV has been docked in Leith for three months due to issues with existing infrastructure in the Tasmanian city of Devonport.

The ship was built at a yard in Finland, but had to be moved to Scotland before winter over concerns it could be damaged by pack ice. A new berth to accommodate the ship, and sister vessel Spirit of Tasmania V, may not be ready until late 2026 or 2027 and the saga has sparked a huge political row in Australia.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn045ld91yzo

They started planning for a new harbour to take these new larger ferries in 2021 but work has been delayed for 6 years and costs have now more than quadrupled from £45m to approaching £200 million. Wow! I bet the opposition parties and the media in Tasmania have forced the government there to batten down the hatches? Nope, barely a word. The harbour delays, unlike those in Ardrossan recently, seem to be just one if this things that happen with big capital projects.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/ferry-fiasco-spirit-of-tasmania-lease-move-abandoned/ar-AA1A3YS9?ocid=BingNewsVerp

Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper [98!] and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/

The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116

About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Bro