#BiggestContract - The Telegraph writes that Cammell Laird on Merseyside has beaten off foreign rivals to land a £200m project to build an advanced research ship for British Antarctic Survey.

Britain’s martime industry has been given a major boost with Cammell Laird landing the biggest commercial shipbuilding contract in more than a generation.

The Merseyside yard beat off competition from rivals in Europe and the Far East to win a £200m deal to build an advanced polar research ship for the Government-backed British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

Work will begin cutting steel for the new 410ft long vessel in autumn 2016 with the ship ready to go into service in 2019, cementing Britain’s position as a world leader in polar science. The project is expected to secure 400 jobs at Cammell Laird and a further 100 positions in the supply chain.

For much more on this newbuild contract, the newspaper reports here.

Earlier this year on Afloat.ie it was reported that Cammell Laird was awarded a contract for a £5.7m project by Northern Ireland's Department for Regional Development.

The contract is for a car-ferry on the Strangford Lough service which will replace an ageing ferry. A second ferry was also on the cards for the service to Rathlin Island.