French shipbuilder, Piriou with production facilities in Europe, Africa and Asia, has been chosen to construct new vessels to serve ferry operator, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group.

As BBC News writes, the operator which links Penzance to the islands off Cornwall, said Piriou will lead work on the new 600 passenger capacity Scillonian IV and a cargo vessel.

As previously reported on Afloat, the Group announced the privately-funded project, which is set to cost £42m and it is hoped the vessels on the Cornwall-Scilly link will both be in service by 2026.

The project to replace existing ferry Scillonian III and freight vessel Gry Maritha, however could face opposition from shipbuilder Harland & Wolff Group which in August released a rival bid to operate Isles of Scilly ferries with its own custom-built tonnage.

The Belfast based shipyard group’s proposal would put it in direct competition with the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company which currently is the only operator on the 37 nautical mile route to the scenic archipelago.

Isles of Scilly Steamship Group CEO, Stuart Reid said the partnership with Piriou was an "important milestone" for their programme.

He added "The project team was unanimous in its decision to appoint Piriou as its preferred shipyard on the basis of experience, technical expertise in delivering specialist ferries and competitiveness".

The 72m newbuild Scillonian IV passenger ferry would have an increase of 115 passengers more than the Scillonian III, built in 1977 and which is 46 years old and the new 45m cargo ship would be larger than to the Gry Maritha, dating to 1981.

Construction of both newbuilds, Afloat highlights, will commence in Piriou’s Vietnam yard in Spring 2024. The vessels will then be transferred to Piriou’s shipyard in Concarneau, France for testing and then commissioning followed by delivery to the UK ahead of the 2026 season.