Shipbuilder Cammell Laird is set to build a new Mersey ferry at the firm’s Birkenhead shipyard. The agreement follows a year of negotiations between the city’s Combined Authority and Cammell Laird.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, who was joined by engineering apprentices as he signed the contract, pledged that the multimillion-pound project will “guarantee the future of the iconic Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey for generations to come”.

The Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said: “It’s always been my ambition to build our new ferry here in the Liverpool City Region, ensuring that we can retain the well-paid jobs and training opportunities it will create for local people. That’s why we’ve taken our time, working in partnership with trade unions, to make sure this doesn’t just deliver best value for money – but best value for our residents too.

“It has taken a Herculean effort to reach this agreement that will bring the first new ferry to the Mersey in over 60 years – that’s before Gerry and the Pacemakers even recorded the song that would help make them world famous!”