Ferry work keeps Cammell Laird busy

The surge in demand for Cammell Laird’s expertise has seen 15 ferries docked at its 120 acre Birkenhead so far in 2015. A further three ferries are also booked in for drydocking and repairs.

Cammell Laird managing director, Linton Roberts, said the company has undertaken the work for a range of long standing clients including Caledonian MacBrayne, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Irish Ferries, NorthLink Ferries, P&O Ferries and Seatruck Ferries.

He said: “It has been a really strong year for ferry drydockings and repairs and we are keen to build on this and win more work from new and existing clients. The work we have undertaken has made full use of our drydocks which are suitable for vessels up to 40m beam.”

Drydockings have included the 46m, 617 gross tonne Mersey Ferry Snowdrop right the way up to the 209m, 50,938 gross tonne Irish Ferries Ulysses.

The high profile job for Mersey Ferry Snowdrop saw it coated it in an eye-catching design created by famed British pop artist Sir Peter Blake, as part of Merseyside’s First World War commemorations.

Elsewhere, Cammell Laird has further bolstered its reputation for building ferries after winning a new multi-million pound contract from the Northern Ireland Government to construct a new freight and passenger ferry for the Strangford and Portaferry route in County Down.

Cammell Laird Technical Services has also recently completed a design for the conversion of a number of EuroShip Services Ltd managed vessels to enable them to run on both Heavy Fuel Oils and Marine Gas Oil.