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Dublin Port News
Projects at Dublin Port include (MP2) to permit building bigger berths for larger ships to cope with increased traffic. AFLOAT adds above is berthed a ferry (centre) containership and a tanker where (read below) related proposed plans for these vessel type's form the port's masterplan's second stage.
The Dublin Port Company is seeking planning permission for an estimated €320 million worth of projects that make up the second stage of its main expansion plan. The State-owned company, writes The Irish Times, is working on a masterplan that…
Dublin Port Chief Receives Apology From Cruise Ship Campaign Over Press Releases
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…
Managers at Dublin Port accept invite to discuss credit card spending, Brexit and cruise-ship business which AFLOAT adds is predominantly located within Alexandra Basin as above.
Executives at Dublin Port Company have agreed to appear before an Oireachtas committee to answer questions about expenditure on company credit cards and hospitality at the State-owned company. According to The Irish Times, on Friday the Oireachtas committee on transport,…
A call for more scrutiny of spending by the State-owned Dublin Port Company, Independent.ie writes, has been insisted by the chairman of the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC).  Seán Fleming spoke out following reports that senior staff spent €520,000 on…
Dun Laoghaire RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Anna Livia. Dublin District Court was told it was one of two lifeboats that approached the sailboat in the shipping lane on 1 June 2017
A small sailing boat that was “erratically” zigzagging in the shipping lane delayed a cruise liner from entering Dublin Port, as the Irish Independent reports from a Dublin court. The trial of two Crumlin men facing charges under the Maritime…
A quartet of cruiseships called to Dublin Port last week among them a brand new ship operating at the higher-end of the market for German based clientele, writes Jehan Ashmore. The 15,560 gross tonnage newbuild named Hanseatic Nature had sailed…
Dublin Port Cruise Ship Evidence Before Oireachtas Committee Today at 1.30pm
The All-Ireland Cruise Ship Action Group will be appearing before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport today at 1.30pm. The Group says it will be giving evidence on the impact the Dublin Port Company’s ban on cruise ships will…
Pictured (l-r) were delegates from the Flemish government visiting Dublin Port Company Nic Van der Marliere (General Representative of the Flemish Government); Sabien Lahaye-Battheu (Deputy for Tourism of the Province of West Flanders); Carl Decaluwé (Governor of the Province of West Flanders); Jan Peumans (Speaker of the Parliament of Flanders); Freddy Evens (Secretary General Foreign Affairs); Pierre-Emmanuel de Bauw (Belgian Ambassador to Ireland); Jacques Vanhoucke (Head of Economic and Commercial Trade); Eamonn O’Reilly, CEO, Dublin Port Company.
Delegates from the Flemish government visited Dublin Port Company to discuss the importance of direct shipping routes to Europe and preparations in the lead-up to Brexit. Such preparations include the launch of the world’s largest roll on-roll off ship Celine…
Dublin Port Announces 'Dwell Time' Initiative to Increase Port Capacity Post-Brexit
Dublin Port Company (DPC) has today announced an initiative to decrease the dwell time of containers and trailers at Dublin Port so as to increase the Port’s throughput capacity for future growth. As Afloat reported earlier, Phase 1 of the…
Dublin Port: The new charges and restrictions will apply from June 1st to one of three container terminals. Above AFLOAT adds is the terminal operated by the Doyle Shipping Group (DSG) which is located in Alexandra Basin (East).
#dublinport - Measures in Dublin Port will see halving the time it will allow shipping containers to be held for free and doubling charges for subsequent storage in order to increase space for Brexit, reports The Irish Times. The State’s…
Celebrity Eclipse arriving into Dublin Port. The 2,850 guest Celebrity Eclipse arrived in Dublin to become the first ever cruise  ship to be based from the port in 2018
DublinTown, the not for profit organisation charged with creating a welcoming and economically viable city environment in Dublin, has urged Dublin Port to provide clarity in relation to its decision to severely restrict cruise ship tourism to Ireland. Dublin Port…
#dublinport - In Dublin Port today it was announced that CLdN, the Luxembourg-based short-sea Ro-Ro shipping company and owner of the “Brexit Buster” MV Celine, has added its newly built ship “MV Laureline” onto its direct Ro-Ro freight service from…
All-Ireland Campaign Launched to Reverse Ban on Cruise Ships Entering Dublin Port
A group of businesses across the tourism, retail and transport sectors have come together to campaign against the Dublin Port Company’s surprise ban on cruise ships entering Dublin Port from 2021. The group, which will be known as the All-Ireland…
The 330m Royal Princess  cruise ship arrives in Dublin in 2018 carrying more than 3,000 passengers and crew
Dublin Town, the not for profit organisation charged with creating a welcoming and economically viable city environment in Dublin, has urged Dublin Port to reconsider its decision to cut cruise ship calls to the city by more than 50%, from…
#dublinport - Dublin Port's CEO has defended the company’s proposal to limit cruise ship traffic because of capacity issues. Eamonn O’Reilly told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the plan is to reduce the number of cruise ships allowed into Dublin…
#dublinport -  Dublin Port Company issued a statement this week in regards to its cruise ship business which showed the number calling to the Port has grown considerably in recent years. In 2018, there were 150 cruise ship calls. This…

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.