88 Mike Corrigan discussing key industry topics with panellists at the 2022 Interferry Conference useful life left in them. Expert panellists will explore retrofitting solutions to avoid making existing vessels obsolete. Australia is the cradle of the world’s largest vehicle-carrying high-speed ferries with Hobart being home of Incat Tasmania. During our technical tour on the morning of 8 November, Incat’s Robert Clifford, an Interferry board member, will join managing directors Kim and Craig Clifford to give delegates a truly unique up-close look at the inner workings of the Incat shipyard. They will also see Buquebus’s 130E electric wavepiercing catamaran, the world’s largest zero-emissions lightweight ro-pax ferry, under construction. Some of our European members have told me that a behind-thescenes tour of the Incat shipyard alone is already good reason to travel all the way to Tasmania. Say no more! Conference president is Spirit of Tasmania CEO Bernard Dwyer, who will also give us an in-depth look at the new ‘Spirits’ under construction in Finland. As you can read in an interview with Dwyer on the following page, the company’s newbuilds will radically change the ferry business on the Bass Strait. For those delegates who would like to experience Spirit of Tasmania, our hosts are offering a complimentary overnight journey from Devonport to Geelong as one of the posttour options. Also, just across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand, Walter Rushbrook of KiwiRail’s Interislander and his team will present its two new rail-enabled ro-pax ferries being built in South Korea. As is widely known, Interferry has IMO consultative status with Johan Roos, our director of regulatory affairs, having recently attended the 80th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee. We are concerned about its outcome and the impulsively set targets taking effect at the end of this decade. We were expecting a 20 per cent short-term reduction of well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions while striving for 30 per cent in 2030. However, like most of our counterparts, we are still coming to terms with the final outcome which provides for a short-term 70 per cent reduction, striving for 80 per cent by 2040 compared to 2008 – with a bottom line to reach netzero ‘by or around 2050’. During the conference, Roos will share the latest regulatory updates. Besides covering the outcomes from the 2023 IMO sessions and our own Operators Policy Committee meetings, he will also inform delegates on our association’s longstanding engagement with domestic ferry safety as we have now turned our attention to Africa following our successful FerrySafe initiative in the Philippines. In recent years we successfully managed to significantly grow our membership. While each and every member is highly valued, I’m particularly proud that Corsica Ferries recently joined as a member and participant on the Operators Policy Committee. In spring, we also welcomed Italy’s Liberty Lines as a new member. Liberty Lines’ Alessandro Morace, who is responsible for controlling a fleet of 30 high-speed craft, will talk at our Hobart conference, giving delegates insight into the company’s fleet renewal strategy. Yet another new member is New Zealand’s Fullers360, and the brand’s head of innovations and asset development Liam Dowling will share the plans for a 34-metre hybrid commuter ferry that will service Auckland. See you in Hobart! Spirit of Tasmania CEO Bernard Dwyer will host the 2023 event
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