P&O takes delivery of channel ferry
Ferry Online Travel News 26/01/2012
Ferry company P&O has received its new £150 million vessel to be used on the English Channel.
The firm said this week that it had taken delivery of the 47,000-tonne ship, which measures 213 metres in length and can carry in excess of 2,000 passengers. Officials said it is among the biggest ships ever built for use on the Dover Strait.
The Spirit of France was collected on Tuesday in Finland at the STX shipyard in Rauma and will depart on the 1,100-mile trek to Dover on Saturday morning under the command of Captain Steve Johnson. Upon arrival, it will undergo some final preparations before commencing service between Dover and Calais midway through February.
The news comes after another P&O vessel, the Spirit of France’s 49,000-tonne sister ship, was named by Olympic gold medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes upon delivery last year. The firm told reporters that the cost of the two ships combined was its biggest-ever investment.
Helen Deeble, P&O’s chief executive, said that that the new addition gives the firm the finest ferries ever commissioned for cross-Channel service. She added that the two ships represented a “bold statement” in the company’s commitment to raising the bar for comfort and quality among ferry travel.
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