The Sea Shepherd vessel Bob Barker left Hobart on Wednesday to do an all-day run down the coast of Tasmania and back to Hobart.

The 10-hour sea trial ends eight months of refit and repair work to the Bob Barker.

The vessel suffered hull damage on the starboard mid-section earlier this year when it was rammed by the Japanese whaler Yushin Maru #3.

In addition to the structural repairs, the Bob Barker has been refitted with new navigational and communication equipment and has had a complete rebuild of the main engine.

According to Captain Locky MacLean, the Bob Barker is now faster, more efficient, and 100% ready to return to the Southern Ocean for its second year of interventions against illegal Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Bob Barker Underway off the coast of Tasmania