MS Spirit of Tasmania

The 194-meter, eleven-deck MS Spirit of Tasmania I regularly ferries passengers across the Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania. The Spirit is honored as a reliable vessel who delivers her passengers and crew safely, even if that means taking on some of the strait’s roughest waters.

The ultimate test of the ship’s mettle occurred in February 2005, during a journey between Melbourne, Australia, and Devonport, Tasmania. With 623 passengers aboard, the Spirit navigated harsh waters that arrived for a fight, rising to staggering heights of 20 meters while pummeling the able ship.

The waves obliterated cabin walls and windows, flooding the Spirit as high as its seventh deck. Though the damage seemed dramatic, all of the passengers were safe—however, with the ship’s public announcement speakers compromised, many were awoken not to this lovely, placid view from well-made beds but to a terrifying scene of water rushing into their cabins, rising to knee level.

The Spirit’s valiant captain opted against challenging the wily ways of the Bass Strait on a wounded ship in the dead of night. Instead, he made the executive call to turn around and return to Melbourne. Welcomed back to where they had departed from, the passengers were greeted by a barrage of reporters and relieved citizens, as the ship docked safely by midmorning. After an overnight stay for drainage (of water and anxiety) and temporary repairs (of ship and soul), the Spirit of Tasmania I got right back on the waves and set sail the next day, arriving safely in Devonport the following night.