The government this week announced it would abandon plans to build the vessels overseas and establish a taskforce to look at getting it done in Australia.

Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson on Wednesday said he was "open minded" when asked whether the government would consider building two catamarans - a design less than popular when it was used for previous Bass Strait crossings.

He said these vessels would need to meet the business needs of TT-Line for cargo and passengers for a fast service and reliable service.

"We're open minded to opportunities going forward in this country and in this state but we won't be making any rash decision on that," Mr Ferguson said.

Former infrastructure minister Jeremy Rockliff expressed a similar open mind on smaller, faster ships.

"Ruling anything in or out is absolutely not the way to go," he said.

"This is a different world. We need to understand our options here. We will do that with state and federal governments involved, industry and TT-Line."

Premier Peter Gutwein on Wednesday said he was certain Tasmanian catamaran builder Incat would put forward proposals.

"For obvious reasons, catamarans in the past have not been successful so we would need to be convinced though a process that they were a viable, fit-for-purpose option," he said.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said he was confident work done by TT-Line on the need for ships larger than the current vessels would be found to be robust by the taskforce.

"They need giant new ships," he said.

"They have ships at full capacity for six months of the year, they have major freight expectations.

"This is not about the situation for Tasmania in 2021, it's about the situation for Tasmania in 2030 and 2040."

What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor: