Brittany Ferries to restart France route with new ‘eco’ ship

Brittany Ferries, hard-hit by Covid-19 and especially the UK’s quarantine regime, has taken delivery of a new eco-friendly ship which will help it reopen a closed UK-France route.

The Galicia, in addition to serving a UK-Spain route, will run one weekly round trip between Portsmouth and Cherbourg.

The firm stopped serving the route on September 7 as part of cuts linked to the coronavirus pandemic and resulting reduced demand. It is planned that the route can now reopen in December.

The new ship has had successful berthing trials in Cherbourg, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Bilbao and Santander. Galicia, which was built in China and is powered by liquefied natural gas, has many innovative features intended to reduce its impact on the environment.

It is currently in dock for finishing touches before its first commercial voyages in December.

At present, its “home” port is Portsmouth but this will change to a French port, in line with the company’s policy of registering long- term fleet members in France.

Its sister ships, Salamanca and Santoña, will come into service in 2022 and 2023.

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