by Trevor Sturgess

A nautical milestone has been reached with the laying of the keel for the first of two ships for the Dover-Calais route.

P&O Ferries commissioned the ships from a yard in Rauma, Finland. In keeping with tradition, coins were placed under the keel for good fortune at a formal ceremony staged at the STX Europe shipyard.

At 49,000 tonnes, and with an overall length of 212 metres, the new ships are the largest ferries ever designed for the short-sea route.

The first will come into service at the end of next year, followed by another in September 2011.

Helen Deeble, chief executive of P&O Ferries, said: “These new ships represent an investment of 360million euro in our continued success as market leaders in the UK ferry industry.

“Their scale is unprecedented for the Dover - Calais route, being specifically designed to the maximum dimensions the ports can accommodate, and we look forward to introducing our customers to these exciting additions to our fleet in due course.”

P&O Ferries operates a fleet of 25 ferries from the UK to the continent, Ireland and Northern Ireland, carrying around ten million passengers, two million tourist vehicles and two million freight units annually.