The shipyard which built the UK's polar research ship, RRS Sir David Attenborough, Cammell Laird is to construct the first new Mersey ferry in 60 years, in a move which marks a major milestone for the shipbuilder.

Located at Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, the shipyard part of the APCL group, has put pen to paper with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority on a deal which will see the new ferry designed and built exclusively on-site (see previous related overseas shipyard story).

The state-of-the-art newbuild will be designed to harness green technology, with a cutting edge Azi-pull propeller system for reduced fuel usage, along with a diesel-electric hybrid-ready propulsion system. With this feature there is the potential for future conversion to full electric propulsion as technology evolves.

The ferry will also have an exhaust after treatment system which will operate in excess of current UK & international standards to reduce harmful nitrous oxide emissions.

It comes six decades after the last Mersey ferry, which was also built at Cammell Laird had entered service. The vessel will be designed by in-house Cammell Laird naval architects and constructed by the facility’s local workers and apprentices, with a target delivery date of the end of 2025.

The announcement today marks the culmination of a process which started back in 2016 and represents a major vote of confidence in Cammell Laird.

Ferries on the Mersey date back to the early 13th century and have become one of the most iconic modes of transport in the world. Cammell Laird has a long history with Mersey ferries, having built 15 of the vessels dating back to 1836.

The new ferry will bear the hull number 1,395 - being the 1,395th ship built at the shipyard. Other recent ferry projects have included construction of Strangford II (Afloat adds on the Ards Peninsula) Red Kestrel (Isle of Wight) Sound of Seil and Sound of Soay (Upper Clyde service).

Cammell Laird has a rich shipbuilding history dating back 200 years. Its 130-acre site has four dry docks and one of the largest modular construction halls in Europe.