RESTORATION work is underway on a Wirral-built steam tug boat that once ferried passengers between Ellesmere Port and Liverpool.

The Daniel Adamson was built in Tranmere in 1903 by the Shropshire Union Canal and Railway Company.

The coal-fired tug started life as the SS Ralph Brocklebank, providing a combined passenger and towage service between Ellesmere Port and Liverpool.

In 1921, it was sold to the Manchester Ship Canal Company and renamed after the company's first chairman.

In 1936 the boat was refitted in the classical ocean liner art deco style and named "the Royal Yacht of the Ship Canal".

The vessel will be restored to her former glory by the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society, supported by local businesses and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Work has already started at Liverpool’s Huskisson Dock, with river trials and public sailings planned once the project is complete.

Engineering apprentices from Peel Ports will be part of the restoration team involved in the project.

Dan Cross, chairman of the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society said: "The Daniel Adamson was built on the banks of the River Mersey and launched in August 1903, exactly 110 years ago.

"That makes the visit by this fantastic group of apprentices, which will allow them to learn about shipbuilding and engineering of the Victorian era, especially poignant.

"The project to return the Daniel Adamson to full passenger carrying condition while retaining her original machinery has relied upon lots of goodwill since 2004, but none more so than the support of Peel Ports, whose granting of a free, secure berth and superb cooperation has ensured the project has been able to go from strength to strength”.

Gary Hodsgon,  chief operating officer of the Peel Ports Group, which owns the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal, said the apprentices working on the vessel will learn about the future of the port as well as its history.

He added: "The SS Daniel Adamson spent much of her working life towing ships up and down the Manchester Ship Canal as far as the Salford Quays.

"Working on her will mean that our engineering apprentices will gain a deep appreciation of the value of the Manchester Ship Canal and its continuing importance to the Port of Liverpool.

"The Manchester Ship Canal is the UK’s largest inland seaway and Peel Ports is developing a series of mini ports and multi-modal logistics hubs at various locations along the Canal.

"This will enable us to bring containerised products inland to exactly where our customers want it, reducing their carbon footprint in the process.

"Already, world-class companies like Kellogg’s and Kingsland Wines are benefiting from the service.”