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Dublin Port afloat

Dublin Port News
Danish and Turkish flagged tankers Bro Norby and Dicle Deniz berthed at Oil Berths No. 1 & No. 2 in Dublin Port where there are other such facilities located in the port. AFLOAT also adds this morning a fleetmate of the Danish tanker, Bro Deliverer arrived into the port from Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, south Wales which is the UK's largest energy port.
On a busy road route near Dublin Airport, a major traffic plan comes into operation from this week as works to lay a new jet fuel pipe between Dublin Port and the airport continues. As Dublin Gazette reports, the second…
Containers at DSG's terminal in Dublin Port
The importation of cargo from China will plunge to next to nothing from next week, with disruptions potentially lasting for months, Irish shippers say. As Independent.ie reports, to date, mass factory closures in China aimed at containing the deadly coronavirus…
Dublin Port: Dockers with tea chests. AFLOAT adds the scene was taken on Ocean Pier (west) within Alexandra Basin, where currently a major redevelopment project is ongoing as part of the port's Masterplan 2040.
There has been in recent years an explosion of public interest in historical photographs. As The Irish Times reports, the profusion of social media sites dedicated to the past, and cultural institutions such as the National Library and National Museum…
A 120 tonne transformer that was in the cargo hold of veteran vessel MV Saturn (1966/627grt) was discharged by Doyle Shipping Group (DSG).  The small red hulled ship is a survivor in this day of considerably increasing sized ships.
A small cargoship built during the 'Swinging Sixties' when The Beatles were on the scene and the Hovercraft entered English Channel service, arrived into Dublin Port last week with a project cargo, writes Jehan Ashmore. The veteran vessel, Saturn completed (as…
Tug Noordstroom and a new linkspan bound for Dublin Port is seen departing the Netherlands when off the Hoek van Holland. Also above is Stena Britannica berthed at a linkspan of the Dutch ferryport which connects Harwich in the UK. Afloat also adds that favourable weather conditions for the Irish bound linkspan permitted a passage time of 6 days as scheduled by the Dublin Port Co. when an arrival took place last month.
Dublin Port welcomed the arrival of new port infrastructure in the form of a linkspan which was transported by a supporting barge structure from the Netherlands last month, writes Jehan Ashmore. The new linkspan (No. 7) will form part of…
Poolbeg Vice Commodore Eileen Murray carried out the traditional smashing of a champagne bottle on the bow of the Tolka
Dublin Port Company has today officially christened its new Pilot Boat, DPC Tolka, in a short ceremony held at Poolbeg Yacht Club. The state-of-the-art vessel arrived in Dublin Port in December. Father Ivan Tonge of Ringsend Parish and Reverend William…
The quarter tonner Peja was pursued along the Liffey through Dublin’s Docklands
The captain of a small sailing boat has been found guilty of operating a vessel while intoxicated, among a number of charges over an incident during the Dublin Port Riverfest in 2017. Boat owner Brian Stacey (46) and Ronan Stephens…
One of the Dublin Dock Workers’ Preservation Society’s archive of nearly 7,000 images
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…
Playing on beer barrels in the Dublin Docks
Good news from the Dublin Dock Workers' Preservation Society in their attempts to save their 6,000 historical photographs collection. The problem was reported earlier this week on Afloat. Declan Byrne of the Society says: "We have been overwhelmed by the…
A container ship Afloat adds berthed in the port's DFT Terminal.
Record growth figures again in Dublin Port Company have been reported for 2019 as trade with the European Union countries experienced strong growth. Volumes on Ro-Ro (Roll-on/roll-off) and Lo-Lo (life-on/lift off) shipping services to Continental Europe grew by 10.7%, but…
The Dublin Dock Workers’ Preservation Society needs help in storing it's collection of over 6,000 photographs
There has been 'terrible news' reported for Dublin Dock Workers' preservation society who need urgent help to preserve records stored on the internet. The Dublin Dock Workers’ Preservation Society was set up nine years ago, in early 2011. It is…
The Great South Wall closure is due to tide height and dangerous winds on the exposed wall surface
As Storm Brendan is forecast to arrive on Monday morning, 13th January 2020, combined with a period of high tides, Dublin Port Company will temporarily close public access to the Great South Wall and the North Bull Wall Bridge on…
In Dublin’s Docklands, a business group has questioned whether a €320m project by Dublin Port Company (DPC) to double its capacity is in the interests of businesses and residents. The Docklands Business Forum is expected to raise concerns about the…
One of the world’s largest Tall Ships, the 270-foot-long Cuauhtémoc owned by the Mexican Navy on the Liffey with sailors in the rigging
As the main gateway for trade in and out of Ireland, 2019 has been a year of exceptional progress and growth at Dublin Port on several fronts No. 11 Liffey Ferry returns The start of 2019 saw the return of…
Plans by Dublin Port Company is to develop the port stretches until 2040, reports Dublin Inquirer. Right now, officials are pondering one piece of that plan. They’re trying to decide whether to build specific berths for large cruise ships as…
New Pilot Boat DPC Tolka
Dublin Port Company’s new Pilot Boat named DPC Tolka has arrived into Dublin Port at the weekend. The state-of-the-art vessel will allow marine pilots to reach and board larger ships in all weather conditions from a greater distance out into…

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.