Sneak peek at first new Mersey Ferry in 60 years taking shape as Royal Daffodil hits key milestone

The 14m high Royal Daffodil’s steel structure has now reached completion with officials on target to get the vessel on the River Mersey by next summer.

Standing 3.6 metres tall and weighing around 2.5 tonnes, the funnel will eventually be painted red in line with the world-famous Mersey Ferries’ traditional red, white and black colour scheme. The next step in the new build will be to carry out the installation of all the mechanical and electric services to bring the ferry into operation, along with completion of the interior fit out as well as the internal and external painting.

The £26m Royal Daffodil is due to take to the water in 2026 and will be the first new addition to the Mersey Ferries fleet since the 1960s. Wirral shipbuilder Cammell Laird, which has played a strategic role in UK shipbuilding for the past 200 years, is constructing the ferry on behalf of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The vessel is being designed with modern hybrid propulsion that will offer improved environmental performance, greater accessibility, and enhanced comfort for passengers – while reflecting the proud maritime history of the Mersey Ferries. The funnel is a crucial component of the ship, allowing exhaust from the three main engines to be safely expelled while supporting ventilation of the engine spaces.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram was present for the landmark moment. He said: “It’s staggering because in such a short space of time, we laid the keel and we’ve seen the bits being added to it. Today the funnel has been added, so that’s the last piece in the jigsaw and its full shape is here less than eight, nine months after all the hard work of getting a planning and getting the funding together.

“Everything at this moment in time is bang on target and we’ll do the sea trials, even though it’s a river. The sea trials will probably be in March, April next year and then the final fit out, which is the most important bit because let’s face it, everybody comes on and goes, oh, it looks brilliant.

“This is the really important engineering phase and this phase has been carried out with genuine expertise. There are a lot of people from our city region who are working on a vessel that’s going to be crossing the River Mersey for generations to come.” Mr Rotheram also spoke about the enduring legacy of ferries on the river and their connection to the city region.

He added: “The river is in our DNA and then there’s something about a ferry because there’s been a ferry for 800 years. People forget about that.

“I suppose it’s also about Gerry Marsden and that song and for lots of people like me growing up, we saw those black and white pictures of a ferry ‘cross in the Mersey. It was something romantic about it, and there still is, I think there’s something that’s fantastic.

“I couldn’t wait when I kids to take my kids on a ferry and I’m hoping that future generations will also have that strong attachment to what we’re building today.”

The Royal Daffodil will include a lift, allowing easy access to the upper deck – new seating areas and bars. The vessel will feature large open plan decks as well as event spaces for corporate functions and private parties.

The vessel has been designed to harness state-of-the-art green technology, with a cutting-edge Azipod propeller system for increased fuel efficiency, along with a diesel-electric hybrid-ready engine. David McGinley, chief executive of Cammel Laird’s parent company APCL Group, said: “Progress has gone really, really well.

“We’re eight months into the build and here we are with a fully constructed vessel in terms of the steel outfit. We now move into the logistics outfit and all the wiring and pipe fitting and so on, and that will take us another four to five months to get to that.

“We’re bang on track, we’re bang on price, and that’s that’s all it matters.” Mr McGinley added how vital it was for Cammel Laird to deliver the new vessel.

He said: “It’s massively important, massively important to the workforce. Our workforce generally live within about five miles of this facility and I think they would feel really angry and upset if a ferry that would be built overseas was running up and down the river.”