New Condor ferry arrives in England

Condor's new £50m ferry is now being extensively refitted in Poole before it comes into service next spring.

Condor 102 arrived in England on Boxing Day, completing a 12,000-mile, 22-day voyage from the Philippines.

After its refurbishment, the 102-metre-long trimaran will undergo sea trials in the English Channel before it starts sailing between Poole and the Channel Islands in late March.

The ferry will have three seat classes, be able to carry 880 passengers and 235 cars and travel at 35 knots (40 mph).

Condor say that 90% of all weather-related cancellations in 2013 would have been avoided with the new ship.

Before it enters service the ship will receive a new name, chosen by the winner of a competition.

Condor 102 – the latest addition to the Condor Ferries fleet – has arrived into the UK, sailing into her UK base of Poole on Boxing Day. The ship is the first of her kind in Northern Europe.

Watched by keen on-lookers and escorted by a tug, Condor 102,sailed past the Sandbanks peninsula and alongside Brownsea Island, before berthing at Poole Port.

The arrival concludes her long journey from Cebu in the Philippines, from where she departed on 4 December. During her 10,500 nautical mile journey she has sailed across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal and via the Mediterranean before travelling up the Bay of Biscay and into the English Channel.

The new ship represents a £50m investment for the Channel Islands.

Condor 102 will now complete a series of sea trials in the UK and the Channel Islands before she officially comes into service in late March, sailing from Poole to Guernsey and Jersey.