Ferry McFerryface to hit Sydney Harbour after Boaty McBoatface inspiration

Sydney's newest ferry will officially be named Ferry McFerryface, inspired by Boaty McBoatface, the name which took the maritime world by storm in 2016.

The public vote to name the last ferry in a new fleet of inner harbour vessels in Sydney was actually won by Boaty McBoatface, but officials did not want to duplicate such an iconic name. Happily, the similar name of Ferry McFerryface was actually the next most popular option.

According to Australia's ABC News, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said: "Given Boaty was already taken by another vessel, we've gone with the next most popular name nominated by Sydneysiders.

"Ferry McFerryface will be the harbour's newest icon, and I hope it brings a smile to the faces of visitors and locals alike."

The Name Your Ferry competition was launched in July 2016, just months after the Boaty McBoatface debacle in the UK, to christen six new Sydney Harbour ferries.

Suggested names were supposed to fall into one of three categories to avoid the Boaty McBoatface issue; Arts and Culture, Connections to Sydney Harbour and Science, Environment and Innovation.

Fifteen thousand name suggestions were put forward within just one month and now, more than a year later, Ferry McFerryface has finally been confirmed as the final member of the fleet.

In the UK, despite the public voting overwhelmingly for a £200m ($289) research vessel to be named Boaty McBoatface, the Natural Environment Research Council decided it would instead be called RRS Sir David Attenborough. The public's choice of name lived on, however, as a remotely operated vehicle on board the 15,000-tonne research ship was given the name.

And in July 2017, a Swedish rail operator promised to name one of its trains Trainy McTrainface, also after a public vote. One of the new five-strong fleet of Stockholm-to-Gothenburg trains officially received the moniker in October.