P&O Ferries has confirmed it will take delivery of its second new €180 million ship Spirit of France during a handover ceremony at the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland.

The event is scheduled for on Tuesday January 24th.

Spirit of France will then commence its 1,400 mile voyage to Dover under the command of captain Steve Johnson, senior master. 

The ship will arrive in Dover on Saturday January 28th and will undergo berthing trials in both Dover and Calais before entering service on the premier Channel crossing prior to mid-February.

At more than 47,000 gross tons and 213 metres in length, Spirit of France, and sister ship Spirit of Britain, which began service last year, are the largest ferries ever built for the Dover Strait. 

Their combined cost of €360 million is the largest investment ever made by P&O Ferries.

P&O Ferries operates 22 ships on routes to Northern Ireland, Ireland, Holland, Belgium and France, carrying more than nine million passengers, more than one and a half million cars and two million trucks a year.