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Dublin Port afloat

Dublin Port News
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Hamilton Shipping is currently recruiting for a Port Agency Assistant based in its busy Dublin Port office. Established in 1919 with offices in Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Galway and Foyle Port, Hamilton Shipping is one of the most experienced and…
The young Master Mariners with their fellow Sea Scouts
‘Bravo Zulu’ to the young competitors from Arklow, Malahide, Ringsend, Greystones and Howth Sea Scouts who participated in the annual Master Mariner competition last weekend, hosted at Dublin Port and sponsored by the Irish Institute of Master Mariners. A huge…
The new Dublin Port Pilot boat 'Dodder' was accompanied on its journey home up the Liffey by its sister ship, the DPC Tolka and flanked by tug boats Beaufort and Shackleton
Dublin Port Company has taken delivery of a new Pilot Boat named DPC Dodder. The state-of-the-art vessel represents a significant investment to support the critical service performed by the pilots and pilot boat crews on the River Liffey and Dublin…
Peter Taaffe (left) and Jimmy Murray (right) present David Ashmore with his powerboat certificate as part of the Irish Nautical Trust's 14-week community based comprehensive Maritime Training Course. The course will cover all aspects of the maritime sector, from piloting a boat to boat maintenance, maritime administration and much more.
"The only proven way young people will get to know their job and environment is learning while doing". That's the verdict of the Irish Nautical Trust's Jimmy Murray, who has launched a new River Liffey-based maritime training course on the…
STI Clapham in Amsterdam in 2018
Virgin Media News is reporting that a number of Dublin Port workers from central and eastern Europe are refusing “point blank” to unload a ship carrying Russian diesel. The STI Clapham arrived in the capital last night (Sunday 13 March)…
Dublin Port Chief Executive, Eamonn O’Reilly
Dublin Port has announced its regret that the Chief Executive, Eamonn O’Reilly, is departing the company. He informed the Board of his decision to leave at the end of August 2022. Mr O’Reilly has been in the position since 2010.…
Dublin Port Weather Warning
Dublin Port Company will temporarily close access to both the Great South Wall and the Bull Wall bridge tomorrow (Friday 18 February) due to the arrival of Storm Eunice. The Great South Wall wall be closed from midnight tonight until 7am…
The experienced staff running Dublin Port make no secret of the fact that it is difficult running a modern port facility within a developing city, even if the fact of having an active port as an integral part of the…
Jobs at Dublin Port
Dublin Port Company is currently recruiting for the roles of Project Manager and SharePoint Administrator & Document Controller. Candidates for Project Manager in the Programme Management Office — which is delivering the port’s €1.6bn capital programme — should have a…
The ferry Stena Estrid berthed in Dublin Port. Overall freight volumes passing through the port fell by 5 per cent as freight unit volumes with Britain declined by 214,000, while volumes with mainland EU ports rose by 158,000.
Dublin Port chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly has said that Brexit has spelled the end of the British “landbridge” transit route, as new figures show a dramatic fall in lorry traffic with British ports, reports The Irish Times. New border controls…
The risks of Brexit were comprehensively mitigated and Dublin Port’s volumes are set to increase again during 2022
Dublin Port Company has today reported trading figures for the fourth quarter of 2021 and for the year as a whole.  Fourth quarter 2021 Following a surge in activity in Q4 2020, before Brexit border controls were introduced on 1st…
Dublin Port is hiring
Friday 14 January is the last day to apply to join the Marine Operatives pool with the Dublin Port Company. The port’s multi-skilled and multifunctional Marine Operatives, under the supervision of a team leader, operate with full flexibility and carry…
Unifeeder 2022 Irish route map
From this Friday (14 January), Unifeeder Shortsea will be launching its new shipping service linking Rotterdam to/from the ports of Dublin, Cork and Belfast. The company promises that this new service in the Irish Sea offers an enhanced carrying capacity,…
The smallest cargoship regularly calling to Dublin Port, Ronez is a Channel Islands based cement-carrier that berthed in the capital over the New Year's Day Bank Holiday weekend. The vessel is  just 870grt and at 62m in length, yet plays an important role in exporting cement products.  The coaster is also the oldest (built 1982) compared to the port's many modern day big ships among them ro-ro freighter Stena Forecaster (chartered to P&O) with its stern-door looming above the diminutive vessel.
It's refreshing for a change not to report on numerous big ships dubbed 'Brexit-Busters' that involve ro-ro freighters, ferries and containerships, but to focus on the smallest regularly calling cargoship to Dublin Port, writes Jehan Ashmore. In fact having observed…
“Well lads, how’s the GDP going this week then?” The very special 1954-vintage George Bushe-built Crosshaven skiff Lorelei moves sweetly past the Central Bank on Dublin’s River Liffey, rowed by the Stella Maris club of Ringsend in last weekend’s All In A Row Charity Challenge
When we revealed the background to the Crosshaven-built George Bushe rowing skiff Lorelei of 1954 vintage, many sailors of traditional outlook could have been forgiven for reckoning this innovative craft would still stand out as decidedly unusual in any gathering…
Towage Twins Relocate: Dublin Port owned tugs, Shackleton berthed on left while Beaufort sets off on towage duties from their previous station berth located on the North Quay Wall Extension next to the Tom Clarke Bridge (East-Link) not in shot but the Three Arena is seen above. Now the tugs have a more centrally located station berth downriver to faciliate easier operations and for the safety of crew using a custom built pontoon. Note, the tugs don't feature funnel's, instead use exhaust (pipes) uptakes positioned on both sides of the tug master's wheelhouse.
Tugs are among the heart of Dublin Port's workboat operations, though the port's towage pair recently relocated from the publically prominent berths located next to the Tom Clarke Bridge, otherwise known as the 'East Link' Bridge, writes Jehan Ashmore The…

About Dublin Port 

Dublin Port is Ireland’s largest and busiest port with approximately 17,000 vessel movements per year. As well as being the country’s largest port, Dublin Port has the highest rate of growth and, in the seven years to 2019, total cargo volumes grew by 36.1%.

The vision of Dublin Port Company is to have the required capacity to service the needs of its customers and the wider economy safely, efficiently and sustainably. Dublin Port will integrate with the City by enhancing the natural and built environments. The Port is being developed in line with Masterplan 2040.

Dublin Port Company is currently investing about €277 million on its Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR), which is due to be complete by 2021. The redevelopment will improve the port's capacity for large ships by deepening and lengthening 3km of its 7km of berths. The ABR is part of a €1bn capital programme up to 2028, which will also include initial work on the Dublin Port’s MP2 Project - a major capital development project proposal for works within the existing port lands in the northeastern part of the port.

Dublin Port has also recently secured planning approval for the development of the next phase of its inland port near Dublin Airport. The latest stage of the inland port will include a site with the capacity to store more than 2,000 shipping containers and infrastructures such as an ESB substation, an office building and gantry crane.

Dublin Port Company recently submitted a planning application for a €320 million project that aims to provide significant additional capacity at the facility within the port in order to cope with increases in trade up to 2040. The scheme will see a new roll-on/roll-off jetty built to handle ferries of up to 240 metres in length, as well as the redevelopment of an oil berth into a deep-water container berth.

Dublin Port FAQ

Dublin was little more than a monastic settlement until the Norse invasion in the 8th and 9th centuries when they selected the Liffey Estuary as their point of entry to the country as it provided relatively easy access to the central plains of Ireland. Trading with England and Europe followed which required port facilities, so the development of Dublin Port is inextricably linked to the development of Dublin City, so it is fair to say the origins of the Port go back over one thousand years. As a result, the modern organisation Dublin Port has a long and remarkable history, dating back over 300 years from 1707.

The original Port of Dublin was situated upriver, a few miles from its current location near the modern Civic Offices at Wood Quay and close to Christchurch Cathedral. The Port remained close to that area until the new Custom House opened in the 1790s. In medieval times Dublin shipped cattle hides to Britain and the continent, and the returning ships carried wine, pottery and other goods.

510 acres. The modern Dublin Port is located either side of the River Liffey, out to its mouth. On the north side of the river, the central part (205 hectares or 510 acres) of the Port lies at the end of East Wall and North Wall, from Alexandra Quay.

Dublin Port Company is a State-owned commercial company responsible for operating and developing Dublin Port.

Dublin Port Company is a self-financing, and profitable private limited company wholly-owned by the State, whose business is to manage Dublin Port, Ireland's premier Port. Established as a corporate entity in 1997, Dublin Port Company is responsible for the management, control, operation and development of the Port.

Captain William Bligh (of Mutiny of the Bounty fame) was a visitor to Dublin in 1800, and his visit to the capital had a lasting effect on the Port. Bligh's study of the currents in Dublin Bay provided the basis for the construction of the North Wall. This undertaking led to the growth of Bull Island to its present size.

Yes. Dublin Port is the largest freight and passenger port in Ireland. It handles almost 50% of all trade in the Republic of Ireland.

All cargo handling activities being carried out by private sector companies operating in intensely competitive markets within the Port. Dublin Port Company provides world-class facilities, services, accommodation and lands in the harbour for ships, goods and passengers.

Eamonn O'Reilly is the Dublin Port Chief Executive.

Capt. Michael McKenna is the Dublin Port Harbour Master

In 2019, 1,949,229 people came through the Port.

In 2019, there were 158 cruise liner visits.

In 2019, 9.4 million gross tonnes of exports were handled by Dublin Port.

In 2019, there were 7,898 ship arrivals.

In 2019, there was a gross tonnage of 38.1 million.

In 2019, there were 559,506 tourist vehicles.

There were 98,897 lorries in 2019

Boats can navigate the River Liffey into Dublin by using the navigational guidelines. Find the guidelines on this page here.

VHF channel 12. Commercial vessels using Dublin Port or Dun Laoghaire Port typically have a qualified pilot or certified master with proven local knowledge on board. They "listen out" on VHF channel 12 when in Dublin Port's jurisdiction.

A Dublin Bay webcam showing the south of the Bay at Dun Laoghaire and a distant view of Dublin Port Shipping is here
Dublin Port is creating a distributed museum on its lands in Dublin City.
 A Liffey Tolka Project cycle and pedestrian way is the key to link the elements of this distributed museum together.  The distributed museum starts at the Diving Bell and, over the course of 6.3km, will give Dubliners a real sense of the City, the Port and the Bay.  For visitors, it will be a unique eye-opening stroll and vista through and alongside one of Europe’s busiest ports:  Diving Bell along Sir John Rogerson’s Quay over the Samuel Beckett Bridge, past the Scherzer Bridge and down the North Wall Quay campshire to Berth 18 - 1.2 km.   Liffey Tolka Project - Tree-lined pedestrian and cycle route between the River Liffey and the Tolka Estuary - 1.4 km with a 300-metre spur along Alexandra Road to The Pumphouse (to be completed by Q1 2021) and another 200 metres to The Flour Mill.   Tolka Estuary Greenway - Construction of Phase 1 (1.9 km) starts in December 2020 and will be completed by Spring 2022.  Phase 2 (1.3 km) will be delivered within the following five years.  The Pumphouse is a heritage zone being created as part of the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project.  The first phase of 1.6 acres will be completed in early 2021 and will include historical port equipment and buildings and a large open space for exhibitions and performances.  It will be expanded in a subsequent phase to incorporate the Victorian Graving Dock No. 1 which will be excavated and revealed. 
 The largest component of the distributed museum will be The Flour Mill.  This involves the redevelopment of the former Odlums Flour Mill on Alexandra Road based on a masterplan completed by Grafton Architects to provide a mix of port operational uses, a National Maritime Archive, two 300 seat performance venues, working and studio spaces for artists and exhibition spaces.   The Flour Mill will be developed in stages over the remaining twenty years of Masterplan 2040 alongside major port infrastructure projects.

Source: Dublin Port Company ©Afloat 2020.