Australia has to pay Scotland an expensive parking fee for the silliest reason

Australia has been forced to cough up £12 million to Scotland to park up a ship there that is too big for one of its own ports.

The problem is so bad for the country down under that the mistake has been labelled ‘one of the biggest stuff-ups in Australian history’.

The Spirit of Tasmania IV was all set to operate between Tasmania and Victoria this year.

But its home port in Devonport, Tasmania, has been plagued by infrastructure issues, delays and skyrocketing costs.

This means that the massive 212m long ship will now call Leith in Edinburgh home for possibly the next three years.

It will probably not be put into use while in Scotland because it is so huge.

It is a major setback for Australia, which got the ship built in Finland and was described by tourism bosses as a ‘game changer’.

But freezing temperatures in Finland mean the ship has now been moved to Scotland to prevent damage from extreme weather and ice.

Minister for Transport, Eric Abetz said: ‘The sea trials tested the vessel’s systems, performance and capabilities under real-world conditions before heading to Scotland.

‘TT-Line has secured a berth at Leith for a minimum of 30 days at an average weekly cost of $47,534 AUD plus ancillary services while it expedites work to identify potential leasing or chartering options.

‘I would note that this figure is significantly – seven times – less than the $280,000 peddled by the Leader of the Opposition, Dean Winter, who has been spreading misinformation as part of his fear campaign.

‘It is prudent to relocate the ship to Leith whilst leasing options are explored.

‘To have it relocated to Tasmania whilst these options are explored would be far more expensive and waste a significant amount of taxpayer money.’

A spokesperson from Forth Ports (owners of The Port of Leith) added: ‘The Spirit of Tasmania arrived into the Port of Leith today and she will stay here for a period of time.

‘The port regularly provides berthing arrangements for vessels requiring temporary layup and we welcome the Spirit of Tasmania and her crew to Leith.’

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