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Displaying items by tag: Northern Ports

Ports in Northern Ireland with physical posts are set for funding ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU, a Stormont committee has been told.

According to the Press Association, Junior Minister Declan Kearney told the committee that the Executive had been given a briefing by officials on Monday on the latest stage of Brexit negotiations between the UK government and the EU.

He went on to say that the London government has “confirmed that it will urgently put in place detailed plans with the Executive, which does include the physical posts at ports of entry”.

Northern Ireland is set to continue to follow EU single market rules on agricultural and manufactured goods after Brexit, while the rest of the UK will stop following these rules at the end of 2020.

“They have signalled that in order to implement the protocol for January 1 in a way that we all want which is of course is to avoid disruption to trade,” Mr Kearney told the committee.

“Delivery on that infrastructure needs to start as soon as possible, and the British government has indicated that it will provide advice on the requirements and the funding to put that in place.”

For further reading BreakingNews reports here.

Published in Ports & Shipping

Ports and airports need urgent help to endure the coronavirus crisis, Northern Ireland’s Stormont ministers said.

They asked Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to introduce special measures.

Commercial air travel has dwindled with the demise of Flybe and easyJet’s decision to ground its entire fleet.

Freight operators using ferries have expressed mounting concern about the viability of services when there are fewer return loads available.

I will continue to press for critical support to protect our economy and most importantly our community at this difficult time

Northern Ireland Finance Minister Conor Murphy said: “It was a productive phone call with Grant Shapps and Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis.

More from this story reports the Irish Examiner.

Afloat adds asides Belfast Harbour and the Port of Larne, there are commercial ports located in London/Derry (Foyleport), Coleraine and Warrenpoint. 

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!