The UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham was welcomed aboard the new Royal Daffodil Mersey Ferry for a journey along the Mersey, including a sail past Balaena’s Birkenhead shipyard.
The PM was accompanied by the Rt Hon John Healey and Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, and joined by Balaena CEO Simon Gillett. Simon and Balaena Chief Technology Officer Linton Roberts outlined the vessel’s construction, propulsion system and the engineering decisions taken to future-proof Royal Daffodil for decades of service.
The delegation was also joined by six Balaena apprentices, alongside Liz Walker, Training and Apprentice Lead. The apprentices spoke about the areas of the vessel they had helped to build, their training and the experience of seeing a ship they had worked on now operating on the Mersey.
With Royal Daffodil positioned off Balaena’s Birkenhead site, discussion turned to the future of the yard, including the RFA and commercial vessels currently undergoing work, the company’s investment plans and the potential for future UK shipbuilding programmes to create significantly more skilled jobs and apprenticeship opportunities.
Around 85% of the vessel was delivered through the Liverpool City Region supply chain, demonstrating the depth of capability that exists within British industry and the economic value created when major shipbuilding programmes are delivered in the UK.
