CROSS-Channel ferry company SeaFrance has confirmed that it has ordered a new ship for the Dover-Calais route.

The ship, which will follow the design of the company’s current flagship SeaFrance Rodin, is expected to come into service in February 2005.

News of the order comes just two weeks after Norfolk Line revealed that it was ordering two new ferries for the Dover-Dunkerque route.

The new SeaFrance ship, the name of which is yet to be decided, will be built by Alstom owned shipyard, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, at their Saint Nazaire site in Brittany which is currently also building the Queen Mary II.

It will have capacity for 1,900 passengers and 700 cars and will offer a 70-minute Channel crossing time, sailing at a top speed of 25 knots. “We are delighted to confirm our plans for a new ship,” said Robin Wilkins, managing director at SeaFrance. “SeaFrance is committed to flying the French flag on the short sea routes and to the renewal of our fleet.

“The SeaFrance Rodin has been phenomenally successful for us and was instrumental in our 26 per cent rise in passenger numbers in 2002. Increasing our quality and capacity with a second state of the art ship is a positive move to consolidate our position in the cross channel market.”