TASPORTS has announced the barge John Duigan has resumed its standard weekly shipping service to King Island, after the completion of works to replace the vessel’s propeller shafts.
Repair works were undertaken in South Australia and the vessel returned to the water last week, successfully arriving at the port of Grassy on Saturday.
Investigations into the root cause of the failure remain ongoing and include “thorough assessments of the shaft”.
TasPorts chief executive Anthony Donald said irrespective of the vessel utilised, Bass Island Line (the TasPorts subsidiary) had ensured the continuity of services for the King Island community during the outage.
“Bass Island Line ensured weekly services continued for the King Island community through charter arrangements with Eastern Line’s King Islander,” he said.
“Bass Island Line has demonstrated consistently its commitment to delivering a safe and dedicated shipping service for the King Island community since operations commenced in April 2017,” Mr Donald said.
“TasPorts and Bass Island Line remain committed to ensuring ongoing engagement and consultation with the King Island Shipping Group and King Island Council as we continue to work together to achieve a reliable and fit-for-purpose service.” Mr Donald said the crew on board John Duigan were following all COVID-19 protocols, including essential traveller requirements.
