Dublin Port Company is currently recruiting for a Facilities Manager.

Reporting to the Head of Property, the Facilities Manager will be a key member of the Property team which is responsible for over €13m of income in an estate spanning over 309 hectares.

The role will be varied covering general property matters including facilities and property management, managing property transactions, project management and inspection of various Dublin Port assets.

Dublin Port Company is looking an enthusiastic and experienced Facilities professional to work within a busy property team.

Highly motivated, the Facilities Manager will manage relationships with tenants and stakeholders in line with Dublin Port Company values and have either a property and/or facilities background, either client side or agency side, as well as professional membership of one of the following (or equivalent): Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCS), Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Royal Institute of Architects Ireland (RIAI).

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 20 April. Full details of the role and how to apply can be found on LinkedIn HERE.

Dublin Port Company is recruiting for the role of Deputy Harbour Master.

This is a senior marine management role that will include significant day-to-day operational management, analysis, communications, and decision-making.

Planning, engagement, and collaboration with stakeholders are key to achieving safe and efficient port operations, and the objectives of the Masterplan.

The role involves responsibilities during office hours and an on-call capacity in collaboration with the wider Harbour Master team.

Key responsibilities of the role include:

• Responsibility for the day-to-day management of the harbour team.
• Building effective relationships with stakeholders including staff.
• Acting as the first point of contact for day to day marine operations.
• Deputising for the Harbour Master to regulate and be responsible for the movement and safety of all commercial shipping and leisure craft within the DPC area of jurisdiction through the use of the Vessel Traffic System (VTS) and Port Management Information System.
• Managing all movements of commercial shipping and leisure craft through the issuance of Bye-Laws and DPC Notice-to-Mariners.
• Managing, administering and supervising the allocation of berths including the berthing and un-berthing of ships.
• In collaboration with the Harbour Master, managing and administering the pilotage, towage and pilot launch service.
  Ensure compliance of the Oil Jetty Operations with the Dangerous Substances Act 1979.
• Maintaining close liaison with other local and regulatory authorities.
• Ensuring continuing compliance by all Port Facilities with the requirements of the ISPS Code as a Port Facilities Security Officer (PFSO).
• Ensuring that all measures are in place to minimise oil pollution and that the regulatory Oil & HNS Spill Contingency Plans are in place and updated where necessary.
• Carrying out any such duties as required for the investigation and supervision and clearance of oil pollution.
• Responsibility for the preparation, implementation and supervision of the Marine based sections of the DPC Emergency Management Plan.
• Coaching and mentoring teams to ensure a cohesive approach across the marine operations including performance, development, reward, diversity, wellbeing.
• Leading pre-shift briefings, toolbox talks and staff meetings to ensure clear communication and operational planning.
• Assisting with local informal, and formal, industrial relations processes and engagements with a view to solving disputes as near to the point of origin as possible.
• Working closely with the Harbour Master to ensure the Harbour Function is safe, efficient and fit for purpose in the context of the Masterplan.
• Maintaining accurate and appropriate records in a timely manner.

A full job description of this role is available to download below.

Interested applicants are asked to submit an up-to-date CV and covering email before Friday 11 December to [email protected] or to make their application through LinkedIn.

Dublin Port has stepped in to save the extensive photographic images collection of the Dublin Dock Workers' Preservation Society, writes Tom MacSweeney.

Afloat.ie reported the situation last week when the internet service holding the images, which are made available for public download, informed the society that their subscription would not be extended beyond February and the images would be deleted.

The society had no alternative storage for the collection of almost 7,000 images.

However, Declan Byrne of the society now says “the initial panic is over” as following a meeting at the weekend, Dublin Port Company had offered to help by downloading and saving the image bank.

"This then gives us the time to work on getting a new site/platform that can be accessed by the public,” says Byrne. “Our main aim is that people can download the photos at high resolution without any cost to them.

“Many thanks for Afloat’s support — it is the reason that we have received dozens of offers for help.”

Dublin Port’s chief executive has received an apology over press releases from a campaign against the end of cruise liner arrivals to the port that he claimed were defamatory, as The Irish Times reports.

Lorcan O’Connor, a director of Carroll’s Irish Gifts and founder of the All Ireland Cruise Ship Action Group, and PR firm Paul Allen & Associates published the three press releases in May and June of this year.

Both parties have acknowledged they contained “some limited references” to Dublin Port chief Eamonn O’Reilly as well as “robust expressions of opinion which were unwarranted and/or were stated without providing a sufficient factual basis”.

Two of the press releases made reference to questions over expenditure on company credit cards and hospitality by Dublin Port Company executives, over which the State-owned company faced an Oireachtas committee last month.

The All Ireland Cruise Ship Action Group itself gave evidence before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport in May on the impact they say will be felt by the tourism industry on the port’s recent decision to reduce cruise liner visits over the next number of years.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#Biodiversity - The Irish Wildlife Trust and Dublin Port Company today (Thursday 25 October) launched the Together for Biodiversity Awards with the Minister for Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan.

The awards are being run by the Irish Wildlife Trust, as part of the National Biodiversity Conference next February, and supported by Dublin Port Company.

This is the first Irish awards programme of its kind dedicated solely to recognising and funding biodiversity champions in our society.

The Irish Wildlife Trust is now calling on community groups, schools, farmers and individuals to enter the Together for Biodiversity Awards, have their work recognised and be in with the chance to win funding for future biodiversity projects.

The Together for Biodiversity Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the fantastic work carried out by communities across Ireland to protect our natural environment.

Individuals and communities all over Ireland are doing their bit to help save biodiversity through local projects.

Have you or your community been involved in a project to help protect local wildlife or habitats this year? Perhaps you planted a school wildlife garden, made your village more pollinator0friendly or helped protect a local wetland.

If so, all you have to do to enter is tell all about the work you carried out and how it helped your local biodiversity.

There are categories for community groups, farmers, schools and individual biodiversity champions. Finalists from each category will be invited to the National Biodiversity Conference to highlight their work. Winners will be announced at the conference with a prize of €2,000 for each category winner.

Minister Madigan said: “The Together for Biodiversity Awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the wealth of work being done at local level to protect wildlife and create and restore habitats across Ireland.”

Kieran Flood, co-ordinator with the Irish Wildlife Trust, added: “It is only with the help of local biodiversity champions that will we have a chance of halting biodiversity loss in Ireland, so we are delighted to be celebrating their efforts through the Together for Biodiversity Awards.”

Eamonn O’Reilly of the Dublin Port Company said it is delighted to sponsor the Together for Biodiversity Awards.

“The port is not only a hive of activity for ships, containers and cranes, but also home to an array of birds, marine life, flora and fauna that form part of the Dublin Bay biosphere.

“We are committed to working with a range of organisations and conservationists to better understand and protect our natural environment, and we know that there are countless groups and individuals with the same ambition.

“The awards will shine a light on those doing brilliant work to protect biodiversity right around the country and help support future projects too,” O’Reilly said.

The Together for Biodiversity Awards are part of the National Biodiversity Conference, which takes place at Dublin Castle on 20-21 February 2019 and is being organised by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Irish Forum on Natural Capital.

For more details on how to enter the awards visit iwt.ie/biodiversity-awards

Dublin Port Company has announced that the leading UK boat builder Goodchild Marine Services Limited has secured the contract to construct a new Pilot Boat for Dublin Port. The deal will see a new 17.1 metre ORC vessel delivered to Dublin Port in July 2019, the first Pilot Boat for export by Norfolk-based Goodchild Marine Services Limited.

The new addition to Dublin Port’s fleet will play a vital role in meeting the operational needs of Ireland’s largest and busiest port as it continues to experience growing trade volumes. Trade figures for the first half of 2018 show growth of 5.2% with increases in both imports and exports. There are strong signals that volumes for the full year will pass the one million units mark for the first time. By the end of 2018, Dublin Port expects to have seen growth of 37% in just six years.

With shipping companies increasingly deploying longer, deeper ships capable of carrying more cargo, the new Pilot Boat will allow Dublin Port’s team of highly skilled marine pilots to reach and board these bigger capacity ships in all weather conditions from a greater distance out into Dublin Bay.

"an innovative beak bow design which can steady the hull as it pitches into the sea"

Designed by naval architects Pantocarene and adapted by Goodchild Marine Services Limited for the local market, the boat is renowned for its fuel efficiency, capacity to cut emissions and ability to handle high speeds in bad weather owing to an innovative beak bow design which can steady the hull of the boat as it pitches into the sea.

A separate, flexibly mounted wheelhouse helps mitigate noise and vibration, making the experience for pilots and crew more comfortable, whilst the hull form significantly reduces fuel consumption due to minimal drag. These environmental and design features are in line with Dublin Port’s commitment under the Masterplan 2040, reviewed 2018, to focus on environmental performance improvements in order to reduce the carbon footprint of vessels in port 

Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company, said: “The new pilot boat is the latest investment by DPC as we prepare Dublin Port for future growth. Investment in infrastructure is not simply confined to new quay walls and other engineering works, but also extends to the marine fleet that keeps Dublin Port operational 24/7. Our pilots increasingly need to embark and disembark from much larger capacity ships, and the addition of the new pilot boat will allow our team of experts to do so safely, even at greater distances from port.”

"This is the first time our ORC 171 has been exported"

Steve Pierce, General Manager at Goodchild Marine Services Limited, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Dublin Port on this project. Customers who have been using the ORC range of pilot boats for up to 6 years are reporting fuel savings of around 40% year on year. We have made it our objective to produce boats that have both environmental and financial benefits to ports. Based on customers’ real operational data our ORC pilot boats are the perfect demonstration of this.”

“This is the first time our ORC 171 has been exported, so it represents a very exciting time for Goodchild Marine Services Limited.”

More on the ORC 171 Fast Pilot Craft here

Dublin Port’s iconic landmarks are set to be illuminated in green for the first time to celebrate the St Patrick’s Festival next week.

The Diving Bell on Sir Rogerson’s Quay, Port Centre and Crane 292 will be aglow in emerald for the duration of the festival from Thursday 15 to Monday 19 March at dusk each evening.

And they will be in illustrious company as each year global landmarks show their St Patrick’s Day spirit by going green.

This year over 300 stadiums, statues, museums and towers will take part, including the Colosseum in Rome, Sydney Opera House and Niagara Falls — not to mention the GPO, Kilkenny Castle and the Rock of Cashel closer to home.

Speaking on its inclusion in the St Patrick’s Festival, Dublin Port Company chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly said: “Usually blue is our favourite colour at the port but we’re keen to go green next week.

“The inclusion of these iconic port landmarks is of special significance for us as port city integration is at the core of everything we do. There is a shared history, culture and community between the port and our capital city.

“We hope that people enjoy our contribution to this year’s festival and come to see some fantastic port landmarks in a new light.”

Susan Kirby, CEO of the St Patrick’s Festival, added: “It’s wonderful that Dublin Port is greening the new Port Centre plaza and two of its heritage sites and that it is also part of our artistic programme for this year’s St Patrick’s Festival programme. Dublin Port is a part of our capital city which is steeped in history and has some fantastic stories to tell.

“I would encourage anyone who wants to learn a little more about the port and the shipping industry to download and enjoy the Port Walks podcast walking tour which is engaging and enlightening in equal measure and provides some fascinating insights.”

The landmarks included in the festival are also part of Dublin Port Company’s developing heritage trail, which follows a path along the River Liffey from the Diving Bell via Grand Canal Dock and onward towards North Wall Quay Extension across the East Link bridge to Port Centre on the East Wall Road.

Port Centre precinct has recently undergone redevelopment and is now open to the public with a new public plaza featuring a maritime garden with seats for reflection and relaxation and a sculptural sphere which echoes the time ball of the old Ballast Office.

The port is encouraging members of the public to share their images of these three landmarks lit up on social media with the hashtags #globalgreening #DublinPortCentre #DublinPortCrane #DivingBell and #StPatricksFest.

#Jobs - Dublin Port Company invites applications from Marine Pilots for inclusion on a panel from which future permanent and temporary vacancies in the Dublin Pilotage Service will be filled.

The panel will be active for a period of two years. Applicants must be a holder of a valid STCW Level A-II/2 certificate of competency and must have extensive ship handling experience.

To apply, please send full personal and career details to:

Pat Ward,
Head of Corporate Services,
Dublin Port Company,
Port Centre,
Alexandra Road,
Dublin 1.

The closing date for applications is Thursday 18 January. Dublin Port Company is an equal opportunities employer.

Dublin Port Company has announced the launch of Cruise Dublin, the company’s new Cruise Tourism Development and Marketing agency established to grow Dublin as Ireland’s premier port of choice for cruise.

Cruise Dublin’s role is to promote Dublin as Ireland’s cruise capital to cruise lines internationally, working collectively with its members who are drawn from the capital’s leading retail outlets, visitor experiences and tourism bodies, including Fáilte Ireland. As a membership organisation, Cruise Dublin’s remit is to support those businesses in the capital looking to develop their offering in tandem with the future growth of Dublin as a marquee cruise destination.

Its formation comes as figures reveal that cruise tourism is currently growing at a rate of 20 per cent per annum in Dublin, and projected to grow substantially in the coming years. Dublin Port Company’s ABR Project, recently approved by An Bord Pleanála, will facilitate future growth and allow Dublin Port to handle the world’s largest cruise liners, including the 360m long Allure of the Seas. The ABR Project, once complete, will mean that larger ships will be able to routinely call at Dublin, turn within the expanded Alexandra Basin West and berth as far upriver as East Link Bridge, adding a new dimension to the cityscape.

Cruise Dublin’s work begins in earnest tomorrow, when it takes up position at the world’s leading cruise business convention, the Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (14-17 March). Dublin will be the only Irish port with a dedicated exhibition space at this year’s event, which attracts over 11,000 attendees and nearly 800 exhibitors annually, bringing together ports, cruise lines, suppliers, travel agents and partners.

During the week, Cruise Dublin will also meet with Cruise Europe to finalise plans for the Cruise Europe Conference in Dublin in 2016. The three day event is set to attract over 200 delegates from leading cruise destinations throughout Europe from all the major cruise lines and service suppliers to the cruise industry worldwide. This is the first time that the event will take place in Dublin, providing an opportunity to showcase the city as a leading cruise tourism destination.

Pat Ward, Head of Corporate Services at Dublin Port Company with responsibility for cruise, said: “Dublin Port Company established Cruise Dublin as a marketing development agency to work collectively with its members to attract international cruise lines to the capital, and represent members in our work with Cruise Ireland, Cruise Europe and Fáilte Ireland.”

“We want to promote Dublin as a premium cruise destination directly to cruise companies and work with businesses in Dublin to tailor packages to the needs of the cruise lines and their passengers. This includes attracting ‘Free Independent Travelers’, who normally disembark without an itinerary. We are looking at developing a systematic approach to guiding these passengers towards our members’ attractions, experiences and shopping using a new Cruise Dublin Visitor Card ahead of, and upon, arrival.”

Representatives from the city’s retailers and attractions, as well as tour operators and members from Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and Fingal Local Authorities recently gathered at Dublin Port for a briefing on Cruise Dublin and the future of cruise tourism at Dublin Port.

Jim Keogan, Assistant CEO, Dublin City Council presented plans of the Docklands development demonstrating the port’s improved connectivity to the city, thus making Dublin a ‘City Centre Port’ and suitable for the ‘home porting’ market.

Dublin Port Company’s Head of Corporate Services with responsibility for cruise, Pat Ward, confirmed; “We are also commencing promotion of Dublin as a ‘Home Port’ which, once established, will dramatically increase the number of bed nights in Dublin. It’s an exciting initiative that needs to be commenced now if Dublin is to reap the rewards by 2020.”

“Dublin Port Company has been the driving force behind the development of Dublin’s burgeoning cruise tourism business, having worked to attract and build this valuable business for the city for over 30 years. This is the next step in creating a positive economic impact for the city, enhancing inbound tourism and contributing to the development of Docklands.”

According to Dublin Port Company’s Chief Executive, Eamonn O’ Reilly; “The big challenge will be a lack of 5 star hotels in and around the Port and the City Centre. We have a window of opportunity to make a difference now, but this can only be achieved if we all work together - the businesses, the agencies and the Port. We are doing our part in our developments – it’s up to the industry now to “jump on board”.

#TrainForTrade - An expert from Dublin Port Company will join two representatives of the UNCTAD/TrainForTrade programme in the juries that will assess the dissertation deliveries of the 28 middle managers from Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).

The middle managers have completed the 8 modules of the Modern Port Management course. Those who successfully pass their dissertations will earn UNCTAD's Modern Port Management Certificate.

Ghana is currently on its 3rd cycle in the Programme. A total of 81 middle managers have been trained since its membership in the English-speaking network of the Programme in 2009. Each training cycle lasts 16 to 24 months and comprises 240 hours of in-class training and a final thesis.

Fostering local ownership

The deliveries are both led by UNCTAD and international instructors (Irish port experts), as well local senior managers who have completed the training-of-trainers workshop.

This strategy highlights the uniqueness and strength of the TrainForTrade Port Training Programme in fostering.

Local ownership to reinforce the training's impact and ensure its sustainability.

Local ownership of the programme is achieved through a financing scheme that requires the participating ports to provide the majority of the programme's funds, and by gradually shifting responsibility for implementing the programme from UNCTAD to the participating ports.