THE River Tyne has seen some impressive sights in recent months, but yesterday's arrival of the biggest passenger ship on the North Sea might just top them all.

The Queen of Scandinavia - if not quite a floating city, certainly a sea-borne suburb - spent the day docked at North Tyneside before sailing for Amsterdam.

Designed to carry 1,760 passengers and 350 cars, the DFDS Seaways' vessel will provide a daily service to the Dutch capital.

It rises 12-storeys high and employs about 200 cabin crew, but it is the array of facilities onboard that push it more towards the ocean-going liner class than a cross-channel ferry.

It has four restaurants, six bars, a disco and cabaret club, and two ampitheatre-style cinemas that look like they were modelled on the UN debating chamber.

John Crummie, DFDS Seaway's managing director, said the ship would cement Tyneside's growing reputation as a centre for exploring the North Sea countries.

He said: "Passenger transport like this can be said to be contributing to the success of Tyneside."

Part of a fleet of DFDS super-ships servicing several northern European cities, the Queen of Scandinavia will increase the company's passenger numbers to Amsterdam by 50 per cent.