Tickets for voyages on the Spirit of Tasmania ferries are about to become 15 per cent more expensive due to the rising cost of fuel.
The company which operates the ferries between Victoria and Tasmania, TT-Line, said a fuel surcharge would be in place for new tickets from tomorrow.
The change will not affect customers who already have tickets and TT-Line stressed it will be a “temporary measure only”.
It’s unclear how long the fuel surcharge will be in place. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
For two adult passengers travelling with their car and staying in a porthole cabin, the surcharge could be about $107, according to the company.
Whereas it said the same booking with a caravan could see the couple having to pay up to $228 extra for their tickets.
How Tasmania’s ferry operator made a multi-million-dollar mistake
TT-Line chair Ken Kanofski said fuel prices had increased by 80 per cent, which was projected to cost the company upwards of $50 million.
“Regrettably, we have to pass that cost on to customers and we’re trying to do that in the fairest and most reasonable way,” Mr Kanofski said.
“We’re not going to profit from this arrangement, it’s simply a mechanism to try and recover the additional costs that we’re incurring.”
Mr Kanofski said the company had already experienced a drop in bookings since the start of the war in the Middle East.
“We’re seeing substantial increases in cancellations already over the past month and the softening of sales as well,” he said.
TT-Line was already in a dire financial position before the increase in fuel costs, with Tasmania’s auditor-general declaring the company insolvent last year.
The company said it will regularly review the measure and work to remove the levy at the earliest opportunity.
The company says it’s a temporary measure and will be reviewed regularly. (Supplied: RMC)
However, it has flagged the possibility of the surcharge being kept “at some level” even when fuel prices decrease.
Mr Kanofski said this was because the levy would not be enough to fully recoup the losses being made by TT-Line.
The surcharge will not impact those who use the Spirit of Tasmania vessels for shipping freight, as those customers already pay a fuel levy.
TT-Line said it would report the amount of extra money it is spending on fuel and the revenue generated from the extra fee to its shareholders.
The federal government’s decision to halve the fuel excise for three months would not have any impact on fuel costs for the ferries, as marine diesel was already exempt from the tax.