{{Short description|Australian shipping company}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}{{Use Australian English|date=August 2024}} {{For|the Australian ferry company traversing Port Phillip|Searoad Ferries}} {{Infobox company | name = SeaRoad Holdings Pty Ltd | logo = SeaRoad_Company_Logo.png | logo_size = 200 | caption = | type = | genre = | fate = | predecessor = Holyman and Sons | successor = | foundation = 1890s | founder = William Holyman | defunct = | location_city = Devonport, Tasmania | location_country = Australia | location = | locations = | area_served = Port Phillip Bay<br>Tasmania | key_people = | industry = {{unbulleted list|Transportation|Logistics|Courier}} | products = | services = {{unbulleted list|Transportation|Logistics|Courier}} | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = | assets = | equity = | owner = Chas Kelly<ref name="Chas Kelly">{{Cite web |url=https://www.roadtransporthall.com/k-stories/qifxe7cqkfato6794fnd0lrljnfjks |title=Chas Kelly |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=National Road Transport Museum}}</ref> | num_employees = <400 | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = {{URL|http://searoad.net}} | footnotes = }} '''SeaRoad Holdings Pty Ltd''' is an Australian company specialising in sea freight and transport services. It primarily operates in the maritime sector, providing shipping operations between the Australian mainland and the island state of Tasmania. Generally known as '''SeaRoad Shipping''', or simply '''SeaRoad''', the company offers services such as freight transportation to support the movement of goods across the Sea Highway.
In 2021, SeaRoad added the charter vessel MV ''Liekut'' to its fleet to service the Tamar River in Tasmania,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tasports.com.au/news/tasports-welcomes-searoads-mv-liekut-to-the-port-of-devonport |title=TasPorts welcomes SeaRoad's MV Liekut to the Port of Devonport |date=2021-04-02 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=TasPorts}}</ref> and secured a contract with German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) to build a new roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel. Valued at over $161 million, the MV ''SeaRoad Mersey I'' features LNG propulsion and a capacity of 4,227 lane meters and is expected to be delivered in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.manmonthly.com.au/searoad-signs-new-161-million-vessel-2023/ |title=SeaRoad signs off on new $161 million vessel for 2023 |date=2021-09-22 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Manufacturers' Monthly |last=Haynes |first=Alexandra}}</ref>
In 2022, SeaRoad launched a weekly trans-shipping service for Bass Island Line (BIL), linking King Island with the Australian mainland. This service, using MVs ''SeaRoad Mersey II'' and ''Liekut'', replaced BIL’s previous Victorian port call and is part of SeaRoad’s broader strategy to improve efficiency and expand capacity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tasmaniantimes.com/2022/03/searoad-commences-bass-island-line-trans-shipping-service/ |title=SeaRoad Commences Bass Island Line Trans-shipping Service |date=2022-03-16 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Tasmanian Times}}</ref>
In July 2023, SeaRoad opened a $16 million warehouse in Kings Meadows, Tasmania.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.australianmanufacturing.com.au/logistics-company-searoad-opens-largest-facility-in-northern-tasmania/ |title=Logistics company SeaRoad opens largest facility in northern Tasmania |date=2023-07-27 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Australian Manufacturing}}</ref>
==History== SeaRoad's origins trace back to the late 1890s when William Holyman & Sons began their Bass Strait shipping service.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/H/Holyman%20family.htm |title=Holyman Family |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=University of Tasmania |last=Holyman |first=Robin |publisher=Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies |orig-date=2006}}</ref> Today, SeaRoad, now owned by Chas Kelly’s family in partnership with the Morris family, integrates blue water shipping, road transport, and container hire services, with a workforce of nearly 400 professionals across five locations in Tasmania and Melbourne.<ref name="Chas Kelly"/>
The ''SeaRoad Mersey II'' was taken out of service in early March 2017 to undergo repairs in Sydney due to damage to its hull's ceramic coatings. The ship, which had only been brought into service the previous year, was crucial in easing freight congestion across the Bass Strait, and was back in service by the following month. During its absence, the original ''SeaRoad Mersey I'' maintained the Sea Highway route to ensure continued freight operations in shipping fresh produce.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-03-01/tasmanian-freight-ship-searoad-mersey-ii-not-operating/8314008 |title=Tasmanian freight ship Searoad Mersey II off to Sydney for repairs |date=2017-03-01 |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |last=Kelly |first=Margot}}</ref>
==Fleet== [[File:Searoad Mersey II, Fremantle, 2016 (03).jpg|thumb|RORO ship MV ''SeaRoad Mersey II'' in Fremantle, Western Australia]] SeaRoad currently operates two cargo ships, running six days a week. The MV ''SeaRoad Mersey II'', launched in 2016, is notable{{cn|date=March 2025}} as Australia’s first coastal vessel to utilise LNG fuel and power technology. The MV ''Liekut'', which joined the fleet in April 2021 under a three-year charter, will be replaced by a new SeaRoad vessel at the end of 2024.
Alongside its Bass Strait shipping operations, SeaRoad manages a substantial fleet of road transport and containers, as well as cargo-handling equipment across its terminals and depots. The company offers ‘door-to-door’ services, including container transport, packing, unpacking, storage, and re-delivery.{{cn|date=March 2025}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.searoad.net Official website of SeaRoad Holdings Pty Ltd]
Category:Australian companies established in 1890 Category:Bass Strait Category:Connections across Bass Strait Category:Economy of Tasmania Category:Freight transport Category:Maritime transport Category:Public policy in Australia Category:Road transport in Australia Category:Shipping companies of Australia Category:Transport companies established in 1890 Category:Transport companies of Australia Category:Transport in Tasmania