Displaying items by tag: Offset Results

1st July 2021

Brexit Stockpiling Helped Belfast Harbour Offset Impact of Pandemic

In the lead up to the end of the Brexit transition period, the impact of stockpiling helped Belfast Harbour largely weather the storm of Covid-19, as reflected in the port’s latest annual results

In the lead up to the end of the Brexit transition period, stockpiling helped Belfast Harbour largely weather the storm of Covid-19, according to the port’s latest annual results.

As The Irish News reports, turnover fell by 4.7 per cent to £62.8 million for the year ending December 31 2020, with the £29.7m operating profit in 2020 just 2.6 per cent down on 2019.

The trust port said the decline in revenue was largely the result of the impact on the tourism and leisure trade, notably from the loss of 128 cruise ships due to dock in the city during 2020 and the restrictions on its AC by Marriott Hotel, which saw a £3.6m fall in turnover last year.

But 23.5 million tonnes of cargo still passed through the harbour in 2020, just three per cent down on 2019.

And despite the introduction of the protocol in January this year, a strategic report produced by the Harbour Commissioners said initial trading in early 2021 has been broadly in line with early year trading patterns for previous years.

But, they said that has largely been the result of grace periods for certain goods.

More here with comments from the port's chief exective

Published in Belfast Lough

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About World Ocean Day

World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8th to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet. The focus each year is on the 30x30 campaign: to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilise the climate, it is critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and oceans are protected by 2030.

One of the issues affecting our ocean is marine litter which has become a global problem for both humans and marine life. However, communities around Ireland have demonstrated their desire to be part of the solution by taking part in several beach cleaning and clean-up calls to action.

Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities.

In 2021, the initiative changed its name from “World Oceans Day” to “World Ocean Day”. By dropping the “s”, its organisers wanted to highlight the fact that we are all connected by a large ocean. This shared ocean supports all life on the planet, by producing most of the oxygen we breathe and regulating climate. No matter where we live, we all depend on the ocean to survive.

This means that each piece of marine litter removed from a beach, river, lake, park or street in Ireland, will have a positive impact on a global scale.