A new passenger ferry service between Ilfracombe, Devon, and Swansea, South Wales, is set to be launched in early 2010 in a bid to boost the local tourism industry in both regions.

Operator Severn Link plans to operate fast catamaran services across the Severn Estuary capable of accommodating 360 passengers and reducing journey times to just 50 minutes - almost a quarter of the time it currently takes by car. The Swansea-Ilfracombe route is the first of a number of proposed cross-estuary routes between South Wales and North Devon, with more routes due to be announced early next year.

Chris Marrow, the marine professional behind the scheme, said: "Not only will the ferry service create easy travel to shopping and airport links in Cardiff and Swansea, it will assist with links to major sporting events and offer previously unviable day tripper and short break connections. "Additionally we see Severn Link as instrumental in bringing the Celtic nations of Wales and Cornwall even closer together, including helping the thousands of families who are separated by the Bristol Channel to visit each other via fast, affordable and easy travel routes."