MV Royal Daffodil is a Mersey Ferry serving on the River Mersey, England. She is the first ferry built for the river service since 1962.
Background and construction In January 2018, plans for a new Mersey Ferry were proposed, but were put on hold in May 2018. The project was shelved until March 2022, when Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steven Rotheram, gave the greenlight again to build the new ship, though a builder had yet to be appointed. Cammell Laird was subsequently selected to build the vessel.
Royal Daffodil was laid down at Cammell Laird's shipyard on 10 January 2025, and her name was announced the same day. The placing of the funnel on 27 June marked a milestone of completion of the vessel. She is the sixth Mersey Ferry to share this name, but the first one to be completed under that name. She is estimated to cost about £26 million, and was designed to both be modern, while still retaining the traditional style of the older ferries with the red funnel and black hull.
The ship was wheeled to the river's edge, where she was eventually floated out from the rising tide on 6 November, where she was then towed to the Birkenhead Basin for outfitting.Float-out for new Mersey ferry Ships Monthly January 2026 page 7
Sea Trials commenced on 16 April, and resumed the following day. She ran a third day of trials on 30 April, a fourth and fifth day on 14 and 15 of May.
On 29 of May, the ferry again was out in the river to reach the Huskisson Dock, where she will undergo her final fitting out process and preparations before entering service in Autumn.
On 12 of August, Mersey Ferries began a contest for passengers to win free tickets for the maiden voyage of the Royal Daffodil, which was announced to take place on 26 September the same day. Despite this, the maiden voyage was held on 22 September as well as a naming ceremony despite the thick fog on the river that day.
On the 05 October 2026 She entered in to daily service with the 07:20 Seacombe commuter sailing.
She is to be the largest ferry on the Mersey operating, being larger than the , and the now retired .
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