their working life. In early 2017, it was announced that the new ferries were being built by Polish firm Remontowa to a design by LMG Marin. The diesel-electric hybrid vessels have of space for road vehicles over several lanes and dedicated cyclist accommodation. The vessels are licensed to carry 150 passengers segregated from road traffic. Continuing the tradition of naming the ferries after local people, it was announced in June 2017 that the two new vessels would be named after Dame Vera Lynn, a singer and entertainer from nearby East Ham, and Ben Woollacott, the 19-year-old deckhand on the Woolwich Ferry who drowned after being dragged overboard in a mooring accident in 2011. In October 2018, the Woolwich Ferry was suspended for four months in order to undertake major repair work for the piers, and the existing vessels were taken out of service. The foot tunnel remained open. The ferry service resumed on 1 February 2019. Following expiry of Briggs Marine's contract in December 2020, the service is now run by London River Services. Incidents On 3 August 2011, 19-year-old ferry worker Ben Woollacott died after falling off the boat into the River Thames. The MAIB report published in August 2012 blamed "unseamanlike working practices" during the unmooring operation for the death. When two new ships were bought to update the service in 2018, one was named after him. Fleet The first ferries were the side-loading paddle steamers Gordon, Duncan and Hutton, named after General Gordon of Khartoum, Colonel Francis Duncan MP and Professor Charles Hutton. Each was powered by a condensing engine manufactured by John Penn and Sons of Greenwich, producing 100 nominal horsepower. The initial fleet was eventually replaced, starting in 1923 with The Squire (named after William Squires, a former mayor of Woolwich), and in 1930 with the Will Crooks (Crooks was Labour MP for Woolwich, 1903–21) and the John Benn (Benn was a member of the London County Council, Liberal MP for St George—which included Wapping—and grandfather of Tony Benn). Three vessels were built in Dundee in 1963 by the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company to replace the paddle steamers, and were each named after prominent local politicians: James Newman (mayor of Woolwich, 1923–25), John Burns, and Ernest Bevin. These ferries featured Voith Schneider propulsion systems for manoeuvrability. A cycloidal propeller was fitted centrally at either end, each driven by a 500bhp 6-cylinder Mirrlees Blackstone diesel