Ferry bosses believe their new vessels guarantee a bright future for the oldest cross-channel route in England.

A Spanish shipyard is building two 16,000 tonne boats for French-owned operator Transmanche at a cost of £55 million.

Both will carry up to 62 freight lorries or 224 cars and 600 people. There will be 49 passenger cabins.

With a top speed of 22 knots, the 142 metre-long ships will cut the time of the crossing from four to three hours.

It is almost exactly five years since a crowd waved off what they thought was the last conventional ferry to sail from Newhaven.

When P&O Stena Line pulled out of the port in January 1999 claiming it was losing £8 million a year on its Newhaven operation, it threw the town into crisis.

With no conventional ferry operating on the route for the next two years, there were fears the oldest regular cross Channel route might cease, plunging the local economies of Newhaven and Dieppe into recession.

Then in stepped Transmanche, a consortium backed by the Seine Maritime department in France and the Dieppe Chamber of Commerce.

Soon it had succeeded in rejuvenating the 67-mile crossing as a freight carrying service.

Despite teething problems with its first boat, the Sardinia Vera, it quickly became popular with lorry drivers.

But while some sailings had a full complement of 50 lorries on board, the number of private car owners and passengers using the crossing was less impressive.

Transmanche hopes the first new boat will replace the 27-year-old Sardinia Vera in 20 months.

The second ferry will replace the 22-year-old Dieppe later.

The 17,500-tonne Dieppe made its first crossing from Newhaven in March 2002. It had previously sailed out of Sheerness, Kent.

Last week it was announced Transmanche was considering running a fast ferry between Newhaven and Fecamp, 50 miles from Dieppe.

Monday March 08, 2004