Expansion plans for freight
• Skipper Tim Crawford, Michelle Beeson and Darren Mills on the Matthew Flinders |V.
May 17, 2023
By Nigel Tapp
Bridport-based, Bass Strait Freight (BSF) has revealed a bold vision to expand its operations to service King Island and focus further on the transportation of live cattle across Bass Strait with a new state-of-the-art $14 million vessel.
Since director David Harris purchased the company from Matthew Bayles 18 months ago, BSF has introduced a second ship, Matthew Flinders IV, to the Bridport, Lady Barron and Cape Barren Island run.
Mr Harris said the new vessel added a lot of flexibility and extra capacity to the service which allowed the company to expand its business further.
“The new vessel is a four to five year project but we’ve already begun the groundwork by starting to build our King Island business,” he said.
BSF’s vision is to re-establish a direct freight route from King Island north to Victoria rather than the island’s general freight being transhipped through Devonport to Victoria.
“The main export from both Islands is live cattle.
“Currently there are about 40,000 to 45,0000 cattle shipped each year from King Island and 20,000 to 22,000 from Flinders,” he said.
“Neither one of these markets individually would justify the construction of a new $14 million livestock vessel to service the islands but, together, they do.”
The new vessel – which would replace the 28-year-old Matthew Flinders III as the prime cattle transporter – would be capable of loading 600 cattle on the hoof per trip compared with the current maximum of about 480 cattle.
The vessel would be equipped with stabilizers, an effluent treatment system and automated washdown capabilities.
It would be 25% faster than the Matthew Flinders III to shorten transit times and would also be designed to take freight, including bulk fuel to the islands and to pick up cattle and sheep on the return trip.
Mr Harris said the company had recognised that it needed to specialise and focus on the inter-island transportation of livestock as both a defensive measure and a route to growing the business.
“Approximately 35% of Tasmania’s beef industry is based in Flinders and King Islands. “Farms in Tasmania and close to urban areas in the high rainfall zone across Australia are being subdivided and it’s hard for farmers to build scale into their operations in these areas.
“On the islands, the farms are getting bigger through aggregation and farming systems are intensifying and becoming more efficient.”
Mr Harris said the live shipping of cattle from the islands needed to move in the same direction as the industry that depends on it.
“Freight rates to and from King Island are nearly double everywhere else.”
Basing the new vessel at Bridport would require a deeper channel into the berths.
Bass Strait Freight is currently working with Marine and Safety Tasmania and the Department of State Growth on the long-awaited realignment of the Brid River entrance.
“The realignment would be good for the town, creating access to a much larger town beach and provide a deeper draft for pleasure boating.
“It would also be good for Flinders Island by allowing the freight vessels to come and go fully loaded on all high tides and allow for turnarounds in the tide.”
Mr Harris stressed that BSF remained committed to servicing Flinders Island in terms of both livestock and general freight.
“The company owes its existence to Matthew Bayles’ persistence in developing this route.
“Abandoning Flinders Island to cart cattle to and from King Island makes no sense,’ he concluded.