Empress of Australia

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The Empress Of Australia was a ferry which was operated by the Australian National Line. She sailed on Bass Strait between Melbourne, Victoria and Devonport, Tasmania until 1985. The ship had accommodation for 440 passengers and 90 cars. The Empress's fleet mate at the time was the Australian Trader, which sailed from Sydney, New South Wales, to Hobart, Tasmania, then a return leg via Bell Bay and Burnie on Tasmania's north coast.

She was replaced in 1985 by the Abel Tasman, also a car ferry. The ship was sold to Cypriot owners and heavily refitted and converted into a cruise ship, she was renamed Royal Pacific. In 1991 she was accidentally rammed by a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the Straits of Malacca, and sank.

[edit] External links

• Technical details of the ship
• History of Bass Strait Ferries

v • d • e Australian ferries MS Princess of Tasmania • Australian Trader • Empress of Australia • MS Abel Tasman • MS Spirit of Tasmania • MS Spirit of Tasmania I • MS Spirit of Tasmania II • MS Spirit of Tasmania III • MV Sorrento • MV Queenscliff • Peninsula Princess TT-Line Pty. Ltd. • ANL • Sydney Ferries • Brisbane CityCat & CityFerry • Peninsula Searoad Transport