Thousands stranded after Australia's biggest passenger ship breaks its moorings

The travel plans of thousands of Australians have been thrown into chaos after extreme whether forced Australia's biggest passenger ship to break its moorings and almost run aground in Melbourne.

Powerful winds up to 100 kmh blew the Spirit of Tasmania II free of Station Pier in Port Melbourne at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday night, its mooring ropes snapping in the wild gale. The vessel then lurched at right angles to the pier, sparking fears from onlookers that it would wash ashore.

On Thursday morning, maintenance workers were hurriedly working to repair the damage to the pier so passengers' cars could be unloaded from the ship.

One stranded passenger told News Corp just how close the 28,000-tonne ship, which travels from Melbourne to the Tasmanian city of Devonport, came to running aground on Port Melbourne's beach.

"We were 80 meters from mounting the beach before a tugboat came and pulled us at full speed back into the ocean," the unnamed individual said on Thursday.

"The whole beach was evacuated, and firefighters and police are both on the boat and on the shore."

The ship was returned to the wharf by around 8 p.m..

Early reports indicated the ship sustained significant hull damage. The company released a statement on Thursday, which said the vessel would not sail until further notice.

The incident comes at the worst possible time for the iconic ship - which recently underwent a multi-million-dollar refurbishment - during the height of Tasmania's tourist season.

Hundreds of passengers back in Tasmania are currently stranded in the northern city of Devonport, unable to make the trek across Bass Strait to Melbourne.

The vessels' sister ship, the Spirit of Tasmania I, will run double shifts until it is back in service.

The company has offered all affected passengers a full refund. Endit