Spirit of Tasmania ferries stop using autopilot in Port Phillip Bay

ABC News reported on 9 November 2026 that the operator of the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries has suspended autopilot use during transits of Port Phillip Bay.

TT-Line chairman Ken Kanofski said last week’s incident on Spirit IV involved a “frustratingly minor issue”. “There’s an ongoing investigation, and I don’t want to prejudice that by kind of declaring exactly that everything’s been dealt with,” he told 936 ABC Hobart. “When Spirit IV docked in Geelong, an inspection found a frustratingly minor issue with mechanical electrical processes in the steering console itself.” “And that was rectified and so the ship left that evening without incident.”

He said: “So at the moment, we’re not using autopilot in the bay, in Geelong, in Port Phillip Bay.” The autopilot will still be used once the ship reaches the open waters of Bass Strait. He said the autopilot was never used for the ferries’ arrival and departure at Devonport. “It’s a very different entry to port than Geelong,” he said. “Obviously in Geelong you come in through the heads, and you’ve got quite a long way to navigate to get to port.” “In Devonport it’s a very short distance, and so that’s always been a completely manual process.” “But we’ve taken a range of interim measures to ensure that the ships and the passengers are safe, and that’s our number one priority here.”

A spokesperson said it had “no plans to resume the use of autopilot for all channel and close quarter navigation.” The situation would be reviewed once the Australian Transport Safety Bureau releases its report, which is due by the middle of next year.

Spirit IV was on its fifth-ever passenger voyage last Thursday when its primary steering system failed as it neared the bay en route to Geelong. The issue occurred when the steering control was switched from autopilot to manual mode. A back-up steering system ended up being used, and a tugboat was called to escort the ferry to Geelong, delaying its scheduled arrival by about four hours. The incident came after a separate steering fault on Spirit V during a trial voyage in October. Both matters are now under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

On Sunday, Spirit IV conducted an exercise off Devonport that TT-Line described as a “planned, routine check of its equipment”. “It’s all part of ensuring the vessel is maintained at the highest possible level of safety,” TT-Line posted on its Facebook page.