The first of two fast ferries being built in Somerset, Massachusetts, is on schedule, Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown announced to the House of Assembly on Friday.

Dr. Brown also informed the House that the first new catamaran ferry had officially been named Serenity' by Paget Primary student Keaton Tannock.

Primary Six student Keaton's submission was picked over more than 3,000 other entries from Bermuda's schoolchildren, which were received and reviewed by the Ministry's Ferry Committee.

He won two round-trip tickets to Orlando, Florida, five annual bus/ferry passes, and a dinner, hosted by Dr. Brown, at the restaurant of his choice.

"In addition, the successful bidders for the ferry dock construction will be announced shortly," he noted, "and I am pleased to inform members that the concerns of tour boat operators have been properly addressed.

"There has been no change in our construction schedule."

However, The Royal Gazette has learned that contractors will have only five months to carry out renovations to ready the Island's ferry docks for four new ferries, the first of which is expected to arrive in October.

In addition to renovations to four new stops to accommodate the front-loading catamarans, a new ferry stop will have to be built at Rockaway in Southampton.

At a press conference at the start of May, Dr. Brown said the renovations had already been put out to tender and he expected to reveal who was awarded the contract "soon".

He later said the tenders had gone out to overseas marine contractors and said he would announce the winning bid "shortly".

However, an invitation to tender for the construction project appeared in The Royal Gazette for the first time last week, and a spokesman from Government Information Services (GIS) said that the tenders had first been advertised on June 1.

Separate tenders have been invited "from experienced marine contractors''.

Specifically, the project involves driving steel piling and concrete work in and on the water as well as installation of floating steel and aluminium dock structures and all accompanying civil work.

The GIS spokesperson said the contract is one of several contracts for phase one of the project, and although it would likely be awarded to one contractor, they may enter into a joint venture with another contractor, or they may hire sub-contractors. Tenders are to be returned to the Ministry of Works and Engineering no later than 3 p.m. on Monday, July 9.

While he would not give a date when the contract would be awarded, Dr. Brown said this week that the winner would be announced in the "very near future" and that work would start in August.