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Dublin Port News
Dublin Port Highlights Stamp Commemorating 1920 Dublin Dockers’ Munitions Strike
Dublin Port has highlighted An Post’s issuing of a €1 stamp to honour the Dublin Dockers’ Society and their strike during the War of Independence. The stamp, of a set of two designed by Ger Garland, reproduces a headline in…
Dublin Port - The growth of 1.2% in Q3 has been export led
Dublin Port Company has today reported its third-quarter trading figures for 2020. The latest figures show an increase in overall port tonnage of 1.2% for Q3. After nine months, volumes are down by -6.9% compared to the same period last…
The city of river and sea. Modern Dublin and its port looking eastward
If you were asked to name the real centre point of modern Dublin, you'd probably dodge the question by saying that it's somewhere along a line through O'Connell Bridge and Trinity College, and on up Grafton Street or Dawson Street.…
The Climate Action Bill will set in law the principle of carbon neutrality by 2050. Above the south bank quays of Dublin Port with the MTL Terminal (Lo-Lo) in the foreground.
The Cabinet has heard that Dublin Port is not yet ready for the looming Brexit deadline and needs another inspection facility. On Tuesday Ministers discussed how prepared Irish ports and airports are infrastructurally. The Cabinet was told that while airports…
Dublin Port Company turns its landmark Port Centre building red
Dublin Port Company has turned its landmark Port Centre building and The Diving Bell on Sir John Rogerson's Quay red to support National Fire Safety Week 2020, which runs until October 12th. More than 60 of the city's iconic buildings will…
Victorine (above) which CLdN launched onto the first pure RoRo service between the Iberian Peninula (Santander, Spain) with the UK and Ireland in June has been joined by another freight-only ferry Clementine but on a new link from these ports to Leixoes in Portugal.
Freight-ferry operator CLdN and UK ports group, Peel Ports celebate the addition of a second ferry service linking the Iberian peninsula to Liverpool and Dublin Port. The new weekly service connecting Leixoes, Portugal to the UK and Irish ports, follows the…
Former Dockers Taxi: The Liffey Ferry is back in service as above underway is the No.11 which is operating to strict social distancing measures during the short crossing linking three pontoon stops located in the centre of Dublin's 'Docklands' quarter.
It's back the Old Liffey Ferry service in Dublin's 'Docklands' has returned following easing of Covid-19 restrictions but running in a more subdued environment of the financial and cultural quarter since the outbreak broke, writes Jehan Ashmore. Operators of the…
Dublin Port arrival - The Q2 decline at the port of -17.0% was less than had been feared following a decline in the month of April of -26.2%. This was followed by a smaller decline of -20.5% in May and by a decline of just -5.5% in June.
Dublin Port Company has today reported its second-quarter trading figures for 2020. The latest figures show a decline in overall port tonnage of -10.9% in the first six months of 2020. As Afloat reported previously, having seen a decline of…
There were no cruise ship calls to Dublin Port (except one AFLOAT adds one in March) in the second three months and none is anticipated for the remainder of the year. Above AFLOAT's photo of Irish Ferries chartered-in ropax Epsilon which operates the core short-sea route to Holyhead. Seen underway is Seatruck Ferries freight-ship Seatruck Pace which served Heysham and currently Liverpool. Both vessels have featured down the years in Afloat's 'Ferry Captain Interview's'
Volume of goods passing through Dublin Port were almost 11% down for the first six months of this year, according to figures from the Dublin Port Company. Overall port tonnage, reports RTE News, was 10.9% lower than in the same…
The Docklands Business Forum said approval for Dublin's Port €320m masterplan 'beggars belief'. Above AFLOAT's (file) photo of Alexandra Basin where Phase 1 of the port masterplan involved major reconfiguration of quays and additional hard-standing capacity for cargoes. In this scene is the former Tara Boliden Mines zinc/ore concentrate Bulk Jetty (see loading chute into hold of Arklow Fern which departed the capital on 30 June and reached Odda, Norway today). The facility located in the centre of the basin was demolished last year and replaced with a new mineral terminal built (at the entrance of the former Dublin Dry-Dock: Graving Dock No.2) that opened in October. As usual the main client here is Arklow Shipping and where last month, Arklow Rover, one of their former R class cargoships was sold to Norwegian interests also used the facility. Afloat will have more on the port's new infrastructure and disposal of the Irish flagged ship along with a fleetmate.
Permission has been given by An Bord Pleanála for the next phase of Dublin Port's €320m masterplan to proceed, subject to conditions. The project, reports RTE, includes the development of a new roll-on roll-off (RoRo) jetty, the lengthening of an…
BG Freight Line (a subsidiary of Peel Ports Group) which has introduced a new tri-weekly Dublin-Liverpool service to meet growing demand on the Irish Sea.  Above AFLOAT adds it the containership BG Diamond.
Container operator BG Freight Line has taken a positive step by adding an additional weekly service call to meet the growing demands of traffic between Liverpool and the Irish Sea hub. The newly announced service will call between Liverpool and…
Ro-Ro Cargo Ship Victorine crew members and Captain Andrey Shevchuk (pictured above), receiving care packs from Dublin Port Harbour Master Michael McKenna, with Rev. William Black and Rose Kearney of the Dublin Port Seafarers' Centre.  Dublin Port Company is distributing 500 care packs to seafarers in gratitude for their service during the global pandemic
Dublin Port Company today delivered the first of 500 care packs to international seafarers as a thank you for their frontline service during the coronavirus crisis. Due to the pandemic, many members of ships’ crews have had lengthy enforced extensions…
Irish Continental Group's (ICG) container division of Dublin Ferryport Terminal (DFT) where a Chinese flagged heavy-lift vessel, Da Ji, is to be unloaded with the discharge of a pair of 'straddle-carrier's (container handling vehicles: see smaller cranes behind the larger gantry cranes) though this is subject to today's weather conditions. Also above in this file photo is berthed Elbetrader (974teu) one of seven chartered containerships of ICG's other container division EUCON which operate a network of 'feeder' services also from Belfast and Cork to mainland continental hub port's of Antwerp and Rotterdam.
Afloat tracked a Chinese heavy-lift vessel loaded with a project cargo of straddle-carriers which sailed from Oran, Algeria in north Africa and arrived in Dublin Port this morning, writes Jehan Ashmore. The four straddle-carriers (container carrying vehicles) on board the…
A Seatruck ship arrives into Dublin Port
Dublin Port Company has today reported its first-quarter trading figures for 2020. The latest figures show a decline in overall port tonnage of -4.8% compared to the first quarter of 2019. The first three months of 2019 were dominated by…
The pandemic has not affected operations to date, and there is no disruption to the supply chain according to RTE News. Above AFLOAT's (file photo) taken in Dublin Port from on board ropax freight ferry Norbank when departing for Liverpool, while container ships BG Ireland and Manfred were berthed along the South Bank Quay. This location of one of three Lo/Lo terminals throughout the capital's port estate.
Dublin's sea trade which is around 17% could be affected by the coronavirus pandemic according to the Dublin Port Company. It a statement the company says it "fully expects" a fall-off when the next quarterly results are published. It says…
Dublin Port chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly, AFLOAT adds on board Celine during the giant ro-ro freight vessel dubbed the 'Brexit-Buster'. The landlocked based shipping company, CLdN in Luxembourg, has the ship operating between Dublin Port and mainland continental Europe: Zeebrugge, Belgium and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Importation of most goods from China have stopped arriving in Ireland - representing 1,000 containers in weekly imports - and aren't expected to resume for several weeks. Dublin Port says 17pc of its usual imports have been "exposed to the…

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.