Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Dublin Bay Boating News and Information

Displaying items by tag: Stowaways

Ferry passengers were discovered hiding in the rear footwells of a car on the ferry from (Brodick) Arran to Ardrossan in south-west Scotland.

They are understood to have been islanders trying to leave for the mainland, reports Ardrossan Herald.

Passengers were also found hidden in vehicles on other Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) ferries, attempting to evade the ban on non-essential island travel.

Despite the Scottish Government lifting restrictions to allow families to visit eachother, Arran residents are still barred from visiting relatives on the mainland.

A group of golfers were discovered in a van on the crossing between Largs and Cumbrae.

In both instances, their attempts were thwarted with the stowaways reported to have been found by CalMac staff after attention was brought by other people.

They were prevented from travelling.

For more from the newspaper click here. 

Afloat has identified the ferry as Caledonian Isles as featured in recent years operating the year-round route, which is also the busiest on the CalMac network (see service Covid19 status update).

The Firth of Clyde route is the nearest to Ireland which can linked by travelling across the North Channel routes of Belfast-Cairnryan (Stena Line) and Larne-Cairnryan (P&O Ferries). 

The island serving ferry was tracked to the route over the weekend while seasonal-only fleetmate Isle of Arran remains today in layover at nearby Troon. 

Published in Ferry

#ferries - Stowaways were found hiding in a container at the Port of Cork’s Ringaskiddy ferry terminal moments after it arrived off a ship from Spain.

The eight, according to the Irish Examiner, were all Albanian nationals under the age of 24, including a 16-year-old , were found hiding between pallets in a container on the back of a truck which had disembarked the ferry from Santander in northern Spain around 5pm on Monday.

It is the second time in four weeks that stowaways have been found using the same service. Four were found in a container at Santander port earlier this month before the lorry boarded the vessel.

While the crossing takes more than 26 hours, it is understood the men could have been in the container for up to four days. There were signs that they had access to food and water during the crossing. The container was soiled by excrement.

Gardaí and paramedics were alerted and the men were medically assessed. All were in relatively good physical condition but one was treated for mild dehydration. The seven adults were taken into custody by garda immigration officers. Four have since been deported, three remain in custody pending deportation, and the youth is in care pending further enquiries.

A garda spokesman said there is an immigration presence at all arrivals into the State.

The newspaper has more on the story here. 

Published in Ferry

#ferry - An airlift to hospital took place of two stowaways with hypothermia after being found hidden in a fridge of a passenger ferry.

As the BBC News reports, Kingsbridge Police said the Afghan men were on board a Cherbourg, France to Dublin, Ireland service when they were found 20 miles off the Devon coast.

They were taken to hospital in Plymouth by coastguard helicopter at 19:30 BST on Sunday. Both have since been discharged and are being held by Border Force.

A spokesperson for Irish ferries said: "The stowaways managed to evade numerous checks at the French port and had hidden themselves in a refrigerated trailer on the freight deck.

"One of our crew was alerted by one of the men trying to attract attention by banging the inside of the trailer. He thankfully managed to get the trailer open."

The ferry, called Epsilon, continued its journey and arrived in Dublin on Monday.

Published in Ferry

Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

© Afloat 2020