Arabic version: طفرة في حجوزات «سبيريت» تُسقط الموقع الإلكتروني

According to ABC News, high demand temporarily crashed the Spirit of Tasmania booking website after tickets for the new Spirit of Tasmania IV and V went on sale. Tickets were scheduled to become available at 10am, but customers were placed in a queue as the site reported heavy demand. At 11am, bookings could be viewed but could not be completed because of an error message.

The release added capacity on previously sold-out sailings between Geelong and Devonport, included cheap fares and offered the first tickets for pet-friendly cabins. Before the release, tickets had only been sold to the capacity of the previous vessels and bookings were available only up to June 6, 2027. Many sailing dates had already been booked until the end of the year.

Spirits IV and V are set to begin Bass Strait sailings from October 31, although the website states the planned inaugural passenger sailing is not confirmed and further details will be released soon. The ferries are replacing Spirits I and II, which have operated between Victoria and Tasmania since 2002. TT-Line says the new ships will have 301 cabins, carry an additional 470 passengers and provide three times the caravan capacity.

TT-Line chief executive Chris Carbone called the opening of bookings an exciting milestone. Government minister Jo Palmer said she was delighted by the level of interest, while acknowledging people were working on the booking system. Some customers described frustration: Jen Graham, from the Mornington Peninsula, said she secured tickets at 1pm after refreshing the site since 10am, while Central Highlands resident Yvette Baker said she could not make a booking.