New £26m Mersey Ferry Royal Daffodil looks likely to sail on the river under its own power for the first time this week ahead of its introduction into service in June – with possible sailing times revealed by a social media heritage group. Tony McDonough reports
Royal Daffodil will be the first new Mersey Ferry to come into service in more than 60 years in June and is this week is set to take to the Mersey under its own power for the first time.
Funded by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Royal Daffodil has been built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead. Construction on the vessel started in January 2025 and she first appeared on the river in November.
She is replacing Royal Iris which was finally taken out of service at the end of March. Currently the Mersey Ferries commuter services and river cruises are being undertaken by the remaining ferry Snowdrop.
A target date for Royal Daffodil’s introduction into service has been set for June but first the vessel must undergo sea trials and it looks likely they will begin this week, according to a social media post by a heritage group.
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A post on the Mersey Ferries Heritage Facebook group on Tuesday, reports: “There may be a possibility of seeing the new Royal Daffodil out on the river this week.
“To be clear, if this is the case this will NOT be the ferry entering service or carrying passengers – but more likely part of the testing /commissioning process of the new vessel.”
It adds it believes the vessel will leave Cammell Laird wet basin at 9am on Wednesday morning, sail to the bar anchorage and return at around 8.40pm. This will repeat on Thursday with the ferry leaving at 9am and returning at 8pm.
Sea trials are a requirement for any new commercial ship or boat. Royal Daffodil will already have undergone basic safety checks on propulsion, steering and safety systems in sheltered waters.
But sea trials out in the Mersey Estuary will challenge the ferry’s seaworthiness much more robustly as it will face strong currents, tides, waves and winds. All the vessel’s safety systems must be tested under real-life scenarios before it receives its certification to operate in service.
And this process also allows fine tuning of the ferry and the chance to detect any issues or teething problems. It also gives crews the opportunity to familiarise themselves with Royal Daffodil.