Brittany Ferries Prepares Way for New LNG Powered Ship

Brittany Ferries has signed a letter of intent with the Flensburger Schiffbau shipyard in Germany to construct a new ship powered by LNG. The new ship will be one of the cleanest, most environmentally-friendly ships to operate in UK waters, as LNG emits less carbon dioxide during combustion than marine fuel oil and burns with no smoke.

“The signing of this letter of intent with the Flensburger shipyard is a concrete step towards the construction of a new generation of Brittany Ferries ships,” said Christophe Mathieu, CEO, Brittany Ferries. “Despite Brexit, we remain confident in our ability to continue to grow and modernise our route network, serving both tourism and trade in the regions of western Europe.”

More than four in five people travelling on the French company’s ships are British and more than 2.4 million passengers were carried in 2016. A final contract for the 1,680 passenger and 257 cabin vessel is expected to be signed in spring 2017. The new ship is expected to launch in 2019 on the Portsmouth­-Caen route which offers three daily return sailings. It will operate in tandem with popular cruise ferry, Mont St Michel, launched in 2002.