The new ferry is expected to set sail next year
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region at the construction of the bow of the 60th Mersey Ferry at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead.(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
The name of the new Mersey Ferry has been revealed as photos give the first glimpse of what the ship will actually look like. Work on the £26m project is currently underway in Birkenhead.
The Royal Daffodil will become the sixth Mersey Ferry to bear the name first used in the early 1900s when it enters service in the summer of 2026. The announcement was made at a keel-laying ceremony on January 10.
Work on the £26m project is being carried out at Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird, with the new vessel set to come into service in the summer of 2026. The livery will retain the classic red, black and white colour scheme and false funnel in a bid to respect the rich heritage of the Mersey Ferries.
At the ceremony, the decision to build the new ferry in Birkenhead was described as a “major vote of confidence in Cammell Laird” and the shipbuilder said it was immensely proud to be carrying out the work. David McGinley, Group Chief Executive Officer of APCL Group said: “This ferry will also provide an opportunity to showcase Cammell Laird’s shipbuilding skills to the world.”
David McGinley, CEO, APCL Group with Steve Rotheram(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the new ferry wouldn’t be cheap and nasty describing it as “a boss ferry.” The politician said it hadn’t been easy to get the project delivered locally but hoped the project’s success would send signals across the UK to build new ships in Wirral.
The bow of the 60th Mersey Ferry construction at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Speaking to the LDRS, Mr Rotheram said it was a significant milestone as the shape of the new ferry emerges with most of the works completed by December, adding: “This will be a significant improvement in terms of what we have got.
“The current ferries are older than me. They are coming to the end of their life and they have to be replaced. We have done it in a way where the new ferry will be cleaner and greener, more efficient, more open, more accessible.
“It will be used not just for the commuter services. We will be able to commercialise it and we can get a return. The ferries cost us a lot of money to maintain at the moment.
“It’s to secure the future of the service. A few years ago, the ferries were in danger and there were plans for them to cease to cross the Mersey. That would have been an absolute travesty.
“Our visitor economy is huge, £6.25bn of GVA (gross value added) every single year and I want more people to come. When you are on a ferry, especially on a beautiful sunny day going up and down the River Mersey, you see the beauty on either side of the river.
“The Wirral has got so much to offer not just Liverpool and I think people really get an understanding of why our city region is one of the most beautiful in the country.”