P&O take delivery of largest-ever Dover-Calais ferry

P&O Ferries has taken delivery of its second new £150 million ship, Spirit of France, from the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland.

Spirit of France and its sister ship Spirit of Britain, which began service last year, are, at 213 metres in length and 47,000 gross tons, the largest ferries ever built for the Dover Strait cross-channel route. The Spirit of France’s capacity is 2000 passengers, with a car deck built for 170 lorries and 195 cars (or 1000 cars)

The combined cost of £300 million is the largest investment ever made by P&O Ferries.

After the formal handover ceremony in Finland, Spirit of France then began its 1,400 mile voyage to Dover.  After three days’ sailing, it is estimated to arrive at Dover on Saturday (28 January).  Final preparations will then be made for the new ship to take up service on the Dover – Calais route by mid February.

The most recent statistics (2010) show a total of 13 million passenger journeys on the Dover-Calais route. Following the French government's closure of SeaFrance earlier this month, P&O, who had been the market-leader by a distance, are currently the only company operating on the route. However, the Danish shipping group DFDS is planning to begin a new service in February, in partnership with the French LD Lines, while Eurotunnel have expressed an interest in acquiring SeaFrance’s ferries with a view to starting their own service.

Helen Deeble, chief executive of P&O, said of the Spirit of Britain and the Spirit of France: “This investment gives us the finest cross-Channel ferries ever commissioned for the Dover Strait and is a bold statement of our determination to continue to raise the bar in terms of the quality and comfort of ferry travel. I look forward to welcoming customers on board the first sailing of Spirit of France in due course.”