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Dublin Port News
New arrival - RMS Veritas, Samskip’s first direct container sailing between Amsterdam and Ireland. See slideshow below
Dublin Port today welcomed Samskip’s first direct container sailing between Amsterdam and Ireland, with RMS Veritas arriving into Dublin Port at lunchtime, marking the start of a new weekly shortsea container freight service between Dublin and North Continental Europe, while…
Dublin Port Chief Executive Eamonn O'Reilly
Dublin Port Chief Executive Eamonn O'Reilly told RTE One's Nationwide programme this week that the capital's port will reach capacity in 2040. The CEO said the port, that handles almost 50% of all trade in the Republic of Ireland, faces a…
A container ship berthed at Dublin Port which in 2020 was the third busiest year on record for cargo in the port's long history
Dublin Port Company has today reported trading figures for the fourth quarter of 2020 and for the year as a whole. 2020 was a challenging year for Dublin Port but a year which demonstrated, yet again, the robustness of the…
Dublin Port has issued its 2021 Notice to Mariners
Dublin Port Company has issued its 2021 Notices to Mariners.  The well-presented page on the Dublin Port website here provides links to over 40 different notices covering all aspects of Dublin Port activity in 2021 at Ireland's busiest port in a bay…
Revenue warns hauliers will face sanctions if directions to visit customs posts are ignored. Above: Trucks pass through a customs post at Dublin Port as new arrangements come into force (following a post-Brexit UK).
A majority of lorry drivers arriving on ferries from Britain at Dublin Port in the hours after Brexit came into effect did not know whether they had to go through customs or not, according to State officials. According to The…
Dublin Port Completes Major Road Works & New Traffic Management Measures in Advance of Brexit
With just over two weeks to go before the re-introduction of border controls on goods arriving from Great Britain, Dublin Port Company (DPC) has today announced: The completion of works to increase the capacity of Dublin Port’s internal road network;…
Irish Defence Forces To Carry Out Military Exercise in Dublin Docks
The Irish Defence Forces say they will be conducting a military exercise in the Poolbeg area of Dublin Docks tomorrow morning between 6 & 9.00 am  The exercise aims to test junior leaders in a Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT)…
Dublin Port - contingency plans will be in place from 1st January, 2021, to mitigate the impact that Brexit-related traffic congestion may have on Dublin Port
Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, and Minister of State, Hildegarde Naughton TD, have today announced details of the Brexit-related Traffic Management Plan for Dublin Port and Dublin City. These contingency plans will be in place from 1st January, 2021,…
Dublin Port Recruiting for New Deputy Harbour Master
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…
Dublin Bay's Great South Wall Closed Due to Tide Height & Dangerous Winds
Due to the forecasted Southerly winds issued by Met Eireann for Sunday 15th and Monday 16th November 2020 combined with approaching high spring tides of 4.3m and a possible tidal surge of 0.45m which may pose a risk to walkers…
The 1937 Tyrrell-built 43ft ketch Maybird is now Crosshaven-based, but her owner-skipper Darryl Hughes somehow manages to be the new Honorary Secretary of the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association. In 2018, Maybird became the oldest boat ever to complete the Round Ireland Race
The recent 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association was a successful exchange of proposals and decision-making among enthusiasts who share a delight in classic and traditional craft which set rigs of the most ancient style.…
The Liffey to Tolka civic space planned for Dublin Port
Dublin Port has today reached an important milestone in delivering Masterplan 2040 with the appointment of Grafton Architects to design the Liffey-Tolka Project, the most important Port-City integration project to date. The Liffey-Tolka Project will create a new public realm…
Port of Cork - showing the Pont Aven ferry to France (left) and Independent Quest cargo ship (right) safely docked after passage from USA
The Minister for Transport has today announced the publication of an important report by the Irish Maritime Development’s Office (IMDO) which reassesses Ireland’s Maritime Connectivity and concludes that there is sufficient capacity on existing continental services to accommodate displaced landbridge…
The Stella Maris Seafarers are part of the organising committee
The annual national seafarers' remembrance ceremony in Dublin has been cancelled. The City Quay Seafarers Memorial Service Organising Committee, consisting of the Maritime Institute of Ireland, Stella Maris Seafarers Centre and Dublin Port Company, announced that, due to the current…
File image of Dublin Port
Two men who were jailed earlier this year for drunkenly sailing their boat up the River Liffey from Dublin Port will have a hearing of their appeal to overturn the verdict and sentences next April, as TheJournal.ie reports. Boat owner…
Docklands Users Must Ensure the Right Access with the Dublin Port Pass
Dublin Port Company has issued a reminder to all port users who required access to the Common User Areas to ensure they have the right Dublin Port Pass. The Common User Areas in Dublin Port are restricted access, with entry…

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.