The Spirit of Tasmania has been damaged after wild winds caused the vessel to smash into a gantry. Courtesy: 7 News Melbourne
UPDATE: HUNDREDS of passengers remain stranded on the Spirit of Tasmania after freak 100km/h wind gusts blew the ship free of its moorings.
Work has started to fix the boarding/departing ramp which was damaged in the incident, leaving passengers and vehicles trapped on the ship.
A crane operator working on the ramp at Station Pier told 3AW that it might take a “few hours” to fix, however the official time remains unclear.
The second Spirit of Tasmania ship is waiting in Devonport and will not sail to Melbourne until an engineer has assessed the damage to the ship in Melbourne.
Investigators for the Port of Melbourne will be on site this morning to determine what happened.
“The Harbour Master will be looking into the circumstances of this incident,” Port spokesman Peter Harry said.
Spirit of Tasmania after being swung around on her moorings. Picture: Jay TownSource:News Corp Australia
A spokesman for TT Lines, which owns Spirit of Tasmania and leases the berth from Port of Melbourne, confirmed it would also investigate the incident.
Freak 100km/h wind gusts blew the ship off its moorings when a cool change hit the city.
Beachgoers were evacuated in dramatic scenes amid fears the 28,000 tonne ship would run aground.
A tugboat scrambled to drag the ship back away from the beach, which came as close as 80m to shore, witnesses said.
The ship came as close as 80m to the shore.Source:Supplied
Swimmers get a close-up look at the ship. Picture: Jay TownSource:News Corp Australia
Passengers told the Herald Sun refunds were offered and those on the ship received free accommodation and food.
Geoff Stride, from Ormond, was the last to attempt to get his car on the ship when the storm hit.
“It broke the stern, ropes popped, there was an explosive sound,” he said.
He took up the offer of a night’s stay on the ship and expected to lose “a couple of grand” if he couldn’t get to Tasmania.
Another passenger, Ben, said his car was stuck on the dock in Melbourne and he couldn’t get to it to access his belongings.
“They’re not giving us an answer as to when it will be fixed, when we can have a shower, when it will go to sail, or whether the other Spirit of Tasmania ship will accommodate our needs.”
“I just want to get in my car and find accommodation for the night and now I’m stuck in a terminal with the offer of sleeping in a cruise ship seat.”
Geoff Stride was headed for Tasmania. Picture: Mark StewartSource:News Corp Australia
The SES received 236 calls for help as the cool change moved across the state, 150 of which were for trees down.
The worst affected areas were in the outer south east.
The freak wind came after Victorians sweltered through a 42C day.
chanel.kinniburgh@news.com.au
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