Spirit of Tasmania cuts ticket prices weeks before new vessels launch

TT-Line has made a surprise shift on Spirit of Tasmania fare prices less than two months out from the first voyage of its new vessels.

The ferry operator has announced that it has removed the 15 per cent fuel surcharge on passenger and vehicle bookings for the Spirits, choosing to absorb more than $2 million in unrecovered costs.

The surcharge was scrapped at midnight on September 1, ending a five-month measure introduced on March 31 in response to surging global oil prices triggered by conflict in the Middle East.

While the levy was designed to fully recover the additional fuel expenses required to operate passenger services across Bass Strait, TT-Line chief executive Chris Carbone confirmed the company decided to lift the charge before entirely offsetting its losses.

"Removing the surcharge before fully recovering additional costs is in the best interest of the Tasmanian visitor economy," Mr Carbone said.

A letter from TT-Line chairman Ken Kanofski tabled in Parliament last month said that global market disruptions caused TT-Line's monthly fuel expenditure to climb to about $4.9 million in June.

This was a $1.7 million increase compared with pre-conflict levels.

Although the 15 per cent surcharge generated $1.4 million in revenue during June, the ferry operator was still left facing a cumulative fuel shortfall exceeding $3 million earlier in the winter.

By the time the surcharge was lifted on September 1, the unrecovered financial deficit remained more than $2 million.

Mr Carbone said fuel-related freight pricing remained in place.