The £4m contract was awarded to Falmouth based Pendennis, which recently built Cornwall’s new King Harry Ferry which came into operation in 2006.

Mike Carr, joint MD at Pendennis said, 'The awarding of this contract reinforces our place as one of the West Country’s leading manufacturing companies and sees our newbuild order books busy well in to 2009. We are delighted that the knowledge and experience gained on previous projects will once again be put to good use locally.'

Apart from the new ferry’s greatly increased capacity, a 25% reduction in crossing times and a more efficient traffic management system should ensure that long queues are a thing of the past.

The new vessel will also be able to carry heavier vehicles and, although a midship central control room will span above the car deck to give enhanced visibility, there will be capacity and space for double decker busses below it. The hull form has been designed to suit the downward slope of existing slipways at Dartmouth and Kingswear.

The drive system will be provided by a pair of hydraulically operated bullwheels which will pull the ferry along two steel hawsers anchored on each side of the river. A major advantages of this technique is that it is particularly quiet and  wash is kept to a minimum.

Four thrusters, positioned at each corner, will provide additional manoeuvrability

to correct vessel alignment when operating in strong winds and tidal conditions.

Hydraulically operated ramps hinged to the hull will allow loading and unloading

within internationally agreed transition angles for low profile vehicles.

  Power will be provided by two Scania DI 1262EM engines rated at 280kW each,

only one of which will required for normal operation. The latest technology will

allow the engines to operate with extremely low carbon emissions.

Ferry company director Tony Tucker said, 'The design process has kept us fully occupied for well over a year now. Whilst there are obvious similarities between our new ferry and the one at King Harry, vessels of this type cannot be purchased off the shelf. Each has to be designed for the specific location and conditions in which it is to operate; there is a myriad of factors that require meticulous consideration. Members of our team have travelled as far afield as Canada, including, coincidentally, Dartmouth in Nova Scotia, whilst researching different design options.'

The hull construction has been sub-contracted to the Dutch yard Ravestein, with work starting in the New Year. The hull will be transported to Falmouth at the end of 2008 for fitting out and the installation of its engines and other primary systems. The ferry is scheduled to be delivered to Dartmouth on 10 June 2009.