In the 1840s the
Launceston–Melbourne Steam Navigation Company was in business with
Black Swan,
Royal Shepherd and
Havilah. The
Shamrock at this time was engaged in a service between Sydney, Melbourne and Launceston
Tasmanian Steamers commenced in the 1920s with three ships. The
Oonah (originally on the Sydney-Hobart route) was operated along with and until 1935 when
Oonah and
Loongana were replaced by the . In 1959 the
Australian National Line took over the service, and from 1959 to 1972, the
Princess of Tasmania made crossings between Melbourne and Devonport. The cargo-only
Bass Trader carried heavy vehicles from Melbourne to Tasmania until the
Australian Trader was added in 1969 with services from Melbourne to Burnie, Devonport and
Bell Bay (Launceston) in rotation. From 1965 to 1972, the made three crossings per fortnight from Sydney to Hobart, Bell Bay and Burnie. In 1972 the
Empress of Tasmania replaced the
Princess of Tasmania on the Melbourne to Devonport route and the
Australian Trader moved to the Sydney-Tasmania routes. The Tasmanian Government's
Spirit of Tasmania took over the service from 1985 when the replaced the
Empress of Tasamnia and made six weekly overnight crossings between Devonport and Melbourne. It was replaced by the
Spirit of Tasmania in 1993. In the summer months of 1998 to 2002, Spirit of Tasmania in conjunction with SeaCat Tasmania, also operated the high speed catamaran
Devil Cat between Port Welshpool, 200 kilometres south east of Melbourne and
George Town near Bell Bay. The trip took six hours. Flinders island can also be reached by ferry from Bridport in Tasmania, and from Port Welshpool in Victoria.
2002 - Spirit of Tasmania I, II, III In 2002 the
Spirit of Tasmania was replaced with the two ferries previously owned by
Superfast Ferries Spirit of Tasmania I and
Spirit of Tasmania II, with two crossings each night leaving simultaneously from Melbourne and Devonport. From January 2004 to June 2006 a third ship,
Spirit of Tasmania III, operated on the Devonport to Sydney route.
2022 - Spirit of Tasmania IV, V In 2022,
Rauma Marine Constructions started construction of
Spirit of Tasmania IV and
Spirit of Tasmania V in Finland. They are scheduled to enter service in 2026. In October 2022, Spirit of Tasmania moved its Victorian terminal from
Station Pier in Melbourne to the new purpose built Spirit of Tasmania Quay in
Geelong. ==Localities and ports==