Award-winning ferry operator DFDS has welcomed its second new ferry, Côte des Flandres, on its Dover-Calais service.

The ship sailed into Dover last night at 20:15 after its inaugural voyage from Calais.

The passenger and freight ferry has been transformed in her brand new DFDS livery, mirroring sister ship, Côte des Dunes, which came into service on February 9th.

The ship has undergone extensive interior renovations, creating modern and spacious passenger facilities such as the Lighthouse café, self-service restaurant the 7Seas and a large shop stocked with a variety of holiday essentials and luxuries.

There is also a children’s soft play area to help keep the little ones entertained on-board, whilst those wanting a relaxing voyage can choose access to upgrade to the Premium Lounge.

The ship’s renovations also include a wide range of dedicated facilities for commercial drivers in the Road Kings area, which encompasses around a third of the upper deck.

This includes substantial shower facilities, a large restaurant serving free hot meals to drivers, a relaxation lounge and a dedicated outside deck area.

With the addition of Côte des Flandres, DFDS has increased its daily schedule of sailings between Dover and Calais to up to 30 per day.

When combined with DFDS’ three ferries on the Dover-Dunkirk route, DFDS now operates six ships in total on the Dover Strait, with up to 54 daily sailings to the two French ports.

Not only has this allowed daily departures from Dover to Calais to increase by 50 per cent, but the new ships have also enabled DFDS to significantly increase capacity by 70 per cent for freight and tourist customers on the Channel route.

Carsten Jensen, senior vice president at DFDS, commented: “We are always striving to ensure that customers are at the heart of everything we do.

“Our new Calais ships, which are purpose-built for the Channel, form a key part of our commitment to provide customers with a high quality, frequent and reliable cross Channel ferry service.”