A new ferry in Perth has been built locally and will enter service before the end of the year.
Built by Dongara Marine, a Port Denison-based shipbuilder, the ferry is named after Perth Zoo’s 62-year-old Asian Elephant, Tricia.
Selected through a popular vote, the now MV Tricia will run between Elizabeth Quay and Mends Street Jetty, alongside the MV Shelley Taylor-Smith and the MV Phillip Pendal.
Costing $2.6 million, the 26 tonne ship can hold up to 148 seated passengers. The 23.7m long vessel can travel at up to 16 knots.
Before operating publicly, the vessel will be trialled at Geraldton, and then transported via land to Fremantle Port and sailed up the Swan River.
“In 2018 there were more than 648,000 journeys on Transperth ferries, a great many of those passengers either tourists or locals travelling to the Zoo. It is fitting Tricia’s name will grace our newest ferry for many years to come, and I look forward to it launching later this year,” said WA Transport Minister, Rita Saffioti.
Western Australia’s shipbuilding industry makes a significant contribution to the local manufacturing sector, with major shipbuilders located in Henderson. The state is hoping to lure greater capabilities to the state as part of the build-up of Australia’s naval shipbuilding capabilities.