POOLE’S new £50 million ferry is on track to set sail for the first time at the end of March.

Teams have been working around-the-clock to make sure that the Condor Liberation, which will operate between Poole and the Channel Islands, is ready to go on March 27.

See all the pictures of our behind-the-scenes visit to the Condor Liberation in a gallery

Since it arrived in Poole from the Philippines – 10,500 miles away – on Boxing Day, interior refurbishment specialists Trimline have been working to adapt the interior to Condor Ferries’ requirements.

During a behind-the-scenes visit, Trimline CEO Andrew Richards told the Daily Echo that everything was on track.

He said around 40 staff were on the ship, which will call Poole its home port, at any one time.

“At the moment we’re working shifts around the clock; we’re on target with our plan, slightly ahead, which is great.”

Ethan Fox, 23, from Bournemouth, is one of Trimline’s project managers working on the ship.

He added: “I’ve been all over the Mediterranean and things, so it’s quite nice to cycle to work rather than fly and it’s better to be home than far away.”

The 102-metre ferry is the first of its kind in Northern Europe and the fit-out is seeing a 100sqm duty-free shop, children’s area, three bars and restaurants and three new seating lounges.

Painters are also continuing work on the new Condor colour scheme on the outside of the ship.

Condor first moved its operations to Poole temporarily while Weymouth repaired its harbour walls, but later made the switch permanent because Weymouth’s berth was not big enough for the new ferry.

Bournemouth Echo:

An artist's impression of the Adore duty-free shop

Bournemouth Echo:

An artist's impression of the Ocean Club Class 

Bournemouth Echo:

An artist's impression of the Island Bar 

Alicia Andrews, Executive Director – Commercial for Condor, said: “We’re delighted that we have been able to bring the ship here and to reach a medium-term agreement with Poole.

“It’s given us a great opportunity to also do the fit-out here and we know that our customers like going through Poole and they find that it’s a very good port of entry into the UK, or a port of departure if they’re heading off to the Channel Islands.

“We expect the ship to be in service for many years to come. It’s a really big deal for Condor; I think it’s a really big deal for Dorset and for the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey.

“These are routes which, over the course of the year, serve over one million passengers and over 200,000 cars, so it’s fantastic news for the region and also fantastic news for us.”