However, there is a growing sense of optimism the state's crippling shipping disadvantage could soon be rectified.

A federal government response to an inquiry into Tasmania's shipping and freight is imminent, the Tasmanian government is pushing on with plans to reinstate a direct international link and cabotage laws appear set for the chopping block.

Talk of the best possible solution has been heavily politicised in recent weeks and months as the issue comes to a head.

But stripping the politics away from the debate reveals opinions at the coalface of Tasmania's freight-affected industries are also deeply divided.

ARGUMENT ONE: Reinstating a direct international shipping link between Tasmania and Asian ports.

BYPASSING the mainland en route to international markets is the long-term solution the state desperately needs, says Tasmanian Exporters Group chairman Bob Gozzi.

Mr Gozzi has been one of the key players working behind the scenes to secure a memorandum of understanding between the state government and Swire Shipping, a company based in Singapore.

Swire will soon conduct market testing in Tasmania to determine whether operating into and out of the state will be viable in the long-run.

The state government has put $33 million on the table for an international shipper that proves capable of getting the service up and running.

Mr Gozzi said exporters had been haemorrhaging tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue since the last international ship servicing Tasmania pulled out in 2011.

However, a number of the state's large exporters have been lukewarm in their response to the mooted reintroduction, arguing the proposed bi-weekly service would be far too infrequent and access too few ports.

Mr Gozzi said their position was understandable, insisting transferring freight back onto direct international links would take several years.

"When Tasmania lost its international service, many of these stakeholders were forced to secure alternative contracts they are likely comfortable with," he said.

"The freight prices offered by an international shipper will need to be highly competitive.

"A company can't just come along and expect instant take-up without offering any incentive for people to change their arrangements," he said.

But Mr Gozzi argued the long-term benefits would be two-fold.

"We should be looking at boosting direct imports back into Tasmania to balance the export and import trade," he said.

"It will take time to pursue that opportunity, but until you've got a vessel servicing the state that allows you to do that, you can't even begin to explore it."

ARGUMENT TWO: Expanding the TFES to cover all outbound freight will sooth the shipping crisis.

EXTENDING the Bass Strait freight subsidy is an immediate response Tasmanian exporters are craving, says Tasmanian Logistics Committee chairman Steve Henty.

The existing scheme covers goods moved between Tasmania and the mainland but does not extend to freight from Tasmania destined for international markets.

Mr Henty says the state's mining, agricultural, manufacturing and smelting industries are determined to see that changed.

"Exporters who don't get access to that scheme are uncompetitive in relation to mainland companies who have road and rail access to international ports," he said.

Mr Henty said extending the TFES would cost the federal government no more than $25 million a year and would prove a fast and effective way of levelling the playing field.

"It's not a handout or a hand up," he said.

"It is a drop in the ocean compared to the benefits Tasmania would receive and the amount of money spent on national highways and freight routes elsewhere around the country."

Mr Henty said while an international shipper would be welcome news for a select number of Tasmanian companies, extending the TFES would benefit all exporters, not just some.

"The reality is Melbourne is one of the biggest international shipping ports in the Southern Hemisphere with daily access to Asia and services to the rest of the world every two days," he said.

"Coupled with daily services out of Tasmania, expanding the TFES means our exporters would be able to get their goods to a great number of markets efficiently and quickly.

"While a single international shipper servicing Tasmania once every two weeks is a step in the right direction, a periodic ship to a limited number of ports isn't the premium solution our large exporters need."

ARGUMENT THREE: Cabotage laws must go

EXPORTERS are united in their calls to scrap cabotage laws, with stakeholders across several sectors arguing the maritime rules increase cargo costs and reduce competition.

Federal political debate over several weeks has centred on the laws, splitting the country's two major parties apart and infuriating unions.

The laws impose restrictions on foreign-flagged ships operating in Australian waters - the most obvious impact being forcing international ships to pay domestic wage rates.

Opponents of stripping back the coastal shipping reforms argue that changes would undermine fair conditions and safety in the maritime industry and force third-world wages on workers.

Some large industrials claim the cabotage rules have proven an insidious thorn in their side, while others say reforming the rules is just a small but important piece of a much larger freight-fix puzzle.

Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis said the laws impacted Tasmania more than anywhere else in the country.

"Other states can rely on road, rail and air but we have no other option but sea freight," Ms Davis said.

"Removing these penalties will bring more international ships to our shores, drive more competitive rates among them and create better opportunities for Tasmanian exporters."

But Tasmanian Logistics Committee chairman Steve Henty said it would take time for any impact of lifting the regulations to trickle through to Tasmanian exporters.

ARGUMENT FOUR: There is no silver bullet

WASTING taxpayer money on individual "non-solutions" to Tasmania's freight challenges is incredibly tempting and extremely dangerous, economist Phil Bayley says.

Mr Bayley said there was no panacea to the state's shipping issues, arguing that too often government cash was thrown at solutions without detailed work underpinning the decisions.

He insisted addressing Tasmania's freight problems demanded action across several fronts.

"There is no single lever that can be pulled to improve the costs of getting goods out of Tasmania into domestic and international markets," Mr Bayley said.

"We need lower labour costs, we need increased competition, we need larger scale and we need greater aggregation among Tasmanian producers."

Mr Bayley said several key issues existed beyond the clear tensions among exporters about whether to pursue a TFES expansion or an international shipper.

One of which, he said, was addressing inefficiencies in freight movements.

Mr Bayley flagged concern that northbound containers on some vessels and southbound containers on others were unnecessarily travelling empty across Bass Strait.

He said with international container movement added to the mix, the problem was hurting the hip-pockets of Tasmanian exporters.

Producers, exporters and shipping operators must come together to solve the problem, Mr Bayley said.

"With all these things working better together, we would see more efficiency and less unnecessary cost along the entire supply chain," he said.

Mr Bayley argued doing nothing was not an option, but doing just one thing would fix nothing.