Inquiry into Spirit of Tasmania needed to address 'mess': Labor

Mr Winter said Labor will move to establish a "short" parliamentary inquiry into the delivery of the new vessels.

He said there were important questions to be answered around why TT-Line agreed to a bailout during caretaker mode, whether the Premier and Treasurer had approved of the bailout and when the ships are expected enter into service.

"[Labor] was not briefed on the bailout," he said.

"TT-Line made this decision two days before the election and we're not sure whether they got approval from the Liberals, but they certainly didn't get approval from the Labor Party."

Mr Winter said Labor had been asking questions about the project's ongoing delays and costs because of the ferries' importance to the state's economy.

"Our economy will grow by more than $350 million once we get those new Spirits, potentially thousands of jobs will be created," he said.

"They're already three years too late [and] the government has really dropped the ball on their delivery.

"Through questioning the government, Labor discovered that TT-Line handed over an extra $80 million to Finnish shipbuilder RMC for the vessels despite previously stating the contract was fixed-price. TT-Line also waived penalty payments for late delivery, leading to a further financial loss for Tasmania.

"If Labor didn't ask questions, this critical information - which is absolutely in the public's interest - would never have come to light."

Liberal MHA Jane Howlett said the Labor's call for a parliamentary inquiry was an example of "relentless negative" from Mr Winter.

"These two ships are so exciting for Tasmania... I'm sick of the negativity. Let's get these ships here, let's get them delivered" she said.

Mr Winter said the replacement Spirits were the largest and most significant infrastructure project in the state's history.

"It's being grossly mishandled," he said.