Cammell Laird to Build New Mersey Ferry

U.K. shipbuilder Cammell Laird has been awarded a contract to construct the first new Mersey ferry in 60 years.

The Birkenhead facility, part of the APCL group, signed a deal with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to design and build the vessel on-site for a target delivery date of the end of 2025.

The ferry will feature Azi-pull propeller system for reduced fuel usage, along with a diesel-electric hybrid-ready propulsion system – with potential for future conversion to full electric propulsion at a later date. The vessel will also have an exhaust after treatment system.

The announcement marks the culmination of a process that started back in 2016 and comes six decades after the last Mersey ferry—which was also built at Cammell Laird—entered service. Cammell Laird has a long history with Mersey ferries, having built 15 of the vessels dating back to 1836.

David McGinley, Chief Executive of APCL Group, said, “We have always been a global business with a local heart, so it’s fitting that two things which are closely associated with the Mersey – ferries and Cammell Laird – should come together for this latest milestone in the rich maritime heritage of the area.

“It’s a point of pride that we built the last Mersey ferry to enter service and will be doing so again, cementing our place both in the rich history of the Mersey, but equally, in its future too.”