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Dublin Port News
On the horizon. Launching the 3FM Project, the third and final Masterplan project to bring Dublin Port to its ultimate capacity by 2040 by developing port lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula, is Dublin Port Company Chief Executive, Eamonn O’Reilly onboard the DPC pilot vessel Tolka
Dublin Port Company (DPC) has today launched the 3FM Project, the third and final Masterplan project needed to complete the development of Dublin Port and bring it to its ultimate and final capacity by 2040. The 3FM Project will deliver…
Mein Schiff 4, pictured off Dun Laoghaire’s East Pier in 2015
Plans are in train for as many as 95 cruise liner calls to Dublin Bay in 2022, according to the Minister of State for international transport. Hildegarde Naughton was responding to a Dáil question from Galway independent TD Noel Grealish…
Dublin Fire Brigade units conducting the simulated rescue exercise at the Dublin Port tug Shackleton
As part of Irish Port Safety Week, Dublin Fire Brigade units from Phibsborough and Tara Street teamed up with Dublin Port Company in a safety exercise yesterday (Tuesday 2 November). Together they pooled efforts in the simulated recovery of an…
Dublin Port - Total port volumes down -3.3% in first nine months, but core Dublin Port business steady with -0.5% change in trailer and container volumes
Dublin Port has today reported trading figures for the nine months to the end of September 2021. Overall port throughput declined over the period from January to September 2021 by -3.3% to 25.9 million gross tonnes compared to the same…
Pupils Leo Smith (age 6) and Ines Tanasa (age 7) take centre court at the launch of the new playground at St. Joseph’s Co-Ed National School, East Wall, as part of the community gain from Dublin Port Company’s MP2 project.
Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, T.D., has today officially opened a new state-of-the-art playground for the 240 pupils of St. Joseph’s Co-ed. Primary School in Dublin’s East Wall. This is the first time in more than 10 years that the…
Cormac Kennedy, Head of Property at Dublin Port Company with Declan Freeman, Managing Director of ICG’s Container at the new €48m Dublin Inland Port which Dublin Port Company opens in November and where DFT is the first company awarded a licence to operate at the state-of-the-art logistics facility in North Dublin. DFT will relocate its current empty depot business to Dublin Inland Port from its container terminal in Dublin Port.
Dublin Port Company (DPC) has today announced that Dublin Inland Port will open in early November 2021, with Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT) confirmed as the first company licenced to begin operating at the state-of-the-art facility in North Dublin. The move…
Operation Toto is focusing on passengers moving through Dublin Port where Afloat adds at the main ferry terminal (No.1) is parked a DSPCA Mobile Veterinary Unit.
An animal charity has joined forces with Gardaí and Revenue custom officers in Dublin Port to stop the illegal movement of pets. Operation Toto involves the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA), gardaí and custom officers…
Tall ships - Over 400 young people will participate in 29 voyages in 2022
Over 400 young people will participate next year in 29 voyages onboard five ships as part of the Sail Training Ireland 2022 Voyage Calendar launched yesterday in Dublin. Although the charity had to cancel its 2020 and 2021 programmes due…
Evoking memories of times past, the 65-metre long tall ship STV Danmark is guided through the East Link bridge by a Dublin Port pilot and tug Shackleton
The impressive 65-metres long tall ship Danmark was assisted on the final stretch of her journey to Dublin by a Dublin Port pilot and the tug Shackleton early on Friday. As Afloat reported earlier, after a nine-day voyage from Frederikshavn in Denmark,…
Tall ship Danmark is anchored into Dublin Bay
The impressive 65 metres long tall ship Danmark arrived into Dublin Bay this morning after a nine-day voyage from Frederikshavn in Denmark. The 88-year old vessel, sailing under the flag of Denmark, is a fully equipped sail trainer. The full-rigged…
Dublin Port Company has published a new Pricing Strategy for the period 2022 to 2026
A new pricing strategy in Dublin Port Company which provides for increases in port infrastructure has been published, with the charges outlined for the next five-year period of 2022-2026. The new charges published yesterday, is in accordance with National Ports…
Aerial view of Dublin Port
Dublin Port Company is recruiting for the role of vessel traffic services (VTS) operator. The successful candidate once appointed will join a highly skilled team at Dublin Port. Working as part of a self-relieving and interdependent team of VTS operators,…
Vessels large and small took part in Poolbeg’s Blessing of the Boats in late August
Dublin Port Company has hailed the recent Blessing of the Boats ceremony and flotilla from Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club, which was officiated by Fr Ivan Tonge. The annual blessing of the boats and fleet is a time-honoured tradition which…
Naval Ship LE Samuel Beckett  (left) joins the Naval fleet for 75th birthday celebrations on the River Liffey at Dublin Port
The Naval Ship LE Samuel Beckett, with Minister for Defence Simon Coveney on board, sailed through Dublin Port and the Tom Clarke Bridge to Sir John Rogerson’s Quay today accompanied by an Air Corps flyover as part of the Naval…
File image of Dublin Port Company headquarters
Dublin Port Company has established a scholarship programme to provide opportunities for individuals living in the Port area of Dublin to fulfil their potential through education. The programme is targeted at school leavers, mature student and others with a strong…
The Ringsend-built 1925 J B Kearney 38ft yawl Mavis in her prime, winning Skerries Regatta in 1928
The noted Irish yacht designer and builder John B Kearney (1879-1968) was a real grafter. His day job was as shipwright and later superintendent of the workshops of the Dublin Port & Docks board. But when he decided to build…

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.