As shipbuilder Cammell Laird hosts ‘keel laying’ ceremony for new £26m Mersey Ferry in Birkenhead the name of the vessel, which could be converted to electric at a later date, is revealed. Tony McDonough reports
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram says the new £26m Mersey Ferry will be called Royal Daffodil – the sixth Mersey Ferry to bear that name.
Due to enter service in summer 2026, the vessel will be the first new Mersey Ferry built in more than 60 years. It is currently under construction at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead where on Friday a special ‘keel laying’ ceremony took place.
Steeped in centuries of maritime tradition, keel laying traditionally involved the mast being lowered on to a coin placed inside a newly built boat as a symbol of good fortune for the vessel and its crew.
Those days of large sailing ships are gone. However, the custom continues in modern shipbuilding and marks the beginning of full vessel assembly.
Mayor Rotheram was joined at the event by David McGinley, group chief executive of APCL Group, parent company of Cammell Laird, as well as engineers and apprentices who are working on the vessel.
Also taking part in the ceremony was special guest Nurse Nadine Maguire of end-of-life care charity Marie Curie, whose symbol is the daffodil.
She was invited to lay the special commemorative coin on the new ferry’s keel block in recognition of the tireless and important work the charity does to support people across the Liverpool City Region and beyond.
This ceremony follows months of design, steel cutting and preparatory work on the new ferry which will be built entirely at the Wirral shipyard.
One of the previous Royal Daffodil’s has just been transformed into a £3.5m hospitality venue and is now permanently moored at Canning Dock in Liverpool.
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Mr Rotheram said: “The world-famous Mersey Ferries have inspired hit songs and best-selling books. They’ve attracted visitors from around the world and they’ve connected communities on both sides of the River Mersey for hundreds of years.
“That’s why I’m delighted to announce that the first new Mersey Ferry in more than 60 years will retain the iconic name and historic title carried by some of the best-loved vessels in our fleet, Royal Daffodil.
“Not only is today’s keel laying ceremony an important part of shipbuilding tradition, it also marks the important next step in the shipbuilding process.”
Royal Daffodil has been designed to harness ‘green’ technology, with a Azipod propeller system for reduced fuel usage, along with a diesel-electric hybrid-ready engine. It has potential for future conversion to full electric propulsion as technology develops.
Late in 2023 LBN exclusively revealed Cammell Laird would build the new vessel. It was originally planned that the company would share the work with a Dutch shipyard.
This new ferry will see one of the existing ferries, Royal Iris or Snowdrop, taken out of service. The Combined Authority, which is funding the project, has yet to reveal which one it will be. The CA has released a flythrough video of the vessel.
Click here to watch the new flythrough video
David McGinley added: “This ferry will also provide an opportunity to showcase Cammell Laird’s shipbuilding skills to the world and ensure that Merseyside remains a maritime leader on the global stage.”