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Dublin Port News
The Irish Nautical Trust may have been functioning for years, but Jimmy Murray's enthusiasm is unabated
Jimmy Murray, Director of the Irish Nautical Trust in Dublin, is our "Sailor of the Month" for April in the Environmental category for the key role he played in the commissioning of the purpose-built Liffey Sweeper, which appropriately made its…
Irish Nautical Trust has launched the “Liffey Sweeper
The Irish Nautical Trust has launched the “Liffey Sweeper”, a new environmental vessel designed to collect large amounts of non-natural debris such as plastic, cans and bottles from the city’s waterways. The newest addition to Dublin’s nautical fleet is part…
There was a ‑15.2% decline to 7.8 million gross tonnes in Dublin Port’s volumes for the first three months of 2021 compared to same period in 2020
Dublin Port Company has today reported trading figures for the first quarter of 2021. Following a strong final quarter in 2020 (when volumes grew by +7.8% in the run-up to Brexit), there was a ‑15.2% decline to 7.8 million gross…
Dublin Port Company Seeks to Recruit Facilities Manager
Dublin Port Company is currently recruiting for a Facilities Manager. Reporting to the Head of Property, the Facilities Manager will be a key member of the Property team which is responsible for over €13m of income in an estate spanning…
Dublin Port Fest 21
Dublin is in the rare position of being the home or birthplace of at least four Nobel Laureates for literature, writers and poets who have drawn inspiration from the ancient port's vibrant maritime communities and the lively city around them.…
Dublin Port's 3FM Project envisages the development of port lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula and the construction of a new bridge to provide a Southern Port Access Route to take port-related HGV traffic off existing public roads including East Wall Road, the Tom Clarke Bridge and Pigeon House Road
Dublin Port Company (DPC) has said that Dublin Port will reach its maximum throughput capacity some time between 2030 and 2040. This means additional port capacity will be needed elsewhere on the east coast of Ireland to cater for the…
Dublin Port - Working port among seaside suburbs – looking north across Dublin Port across the Tolka Estuary to Clontarf
Brexit and the pandemic are not the only challenges facing Dublin Port, which handles almost 50 per cent of Ireland’s trade. Port chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly has predicted it will reach full capacity by 2040, and so it has initiated…
Dublin Port's South Bank Quay & Berths 46 - 47
For the past couple of weeks, Dublin Port has been taking its social media followers through the different areas of the capital's Port. The latest is a bird's eye view of Dublin's South Bank Quay. (see vid below) As seen…
Dublin Port's iconic Crane 292 is illuminated in green
Dublin Port has illuminated its iconic landmarks for the launch of St. Patrick's Festival Ireland 2021 According to organisers, as part of St. Patrick’s Festival 2021, "the national colour will light up Dublin and Ireland as a symbol of our…
Dublin Port is seeking marine operatives
Dublin Port Company is currently recruiting Marine Operatives.  Dublin Port Company’s Marine Function operates a Marine Operative Pool that is a multi-skilled and multi-functional team. The Marine Operatives, under the supervision of a Team-leader, operate with full flexibility and carry…
JSP Rover departs the river Liffey
Busy scenes at Dublin Port this week as container ship JSP Rover departs the river Liffey as she heads outwards towards Haven Rotterdam, as Ro-Ro Cargo Vessel Amandine arrives from the Port of Rotterdam! The Lo-Lo Vessel Elbspirit is also…
Adverse weather conditions have led to the temporary closure of Dublin Port's load-on/load-off (lo-lo) terminals, among them the MTL Terminal (also above: the East-Link Bridge) on the south bank quays, close to Ringsend. For updates also on the affected access for pedestrians to the Great South Wall, consult the links below and live weather data from the Dublin Bay Buoy's 'twitter' account.
As Afloat reported, Dublin Port Company yesterday announced delays to some shipping activity and pilotage due to bad weather that also led to temporary closure for pedestrians to the Great South Wall (until to Wed 24 Feb, at 4am), writes…
File image of Poolbeg Lighthouse at the end of the Great South Wall
Dublin Port Company has announced a temporary closure of pedestrian access to the Great South Wall Due to forecasted high winds and tides in Dublin Bay from tonight, Monday 22 February. Access will be closed from tonight at 10pm until…
File image of Naomh Éanna at the heritage graving docks in Grand Canal Basin
The Irish Times reports that Waterways Ireland has confirmed plans to sell off the heritage graving docks at Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock. The inland waterways authority says it is “currently considering a range of options” regarding the sale of the…
Dublin Port at its most attractively busy on a summer’s day. However, the suggestion that commercial port activities be moved elsewhere to aid city waterfront development has recently been aired yet again.
The notion of a rail and possibly road tunnel linking Northern Ireland and Scotland is once again a matter of speculation, and a Discussion Paper will be published by the British Government “within weeks”. Eleven months ago, before Brexit had…
"Our jewel and darling Dublin…." Far from being seen as a problem, the intertwining of the city, port and sea should be thought of as something to cherish and develop
Dublin and its Port. The City and the Sea. The Culture and the Commerce. The Buzz and the Business. The sense of real working and creative life, with the romance of the ocean and the hint of salty far horizons,…

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.