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Dublin Port News
Dublin Port is awarded the winner of 'Port of the Year', the prestigious title was presented at the Seatrade Cruise Awards, part of the Seatrade Med Cruise conference held in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.
#DublinPort - Dublin Port is the winner of the 'Port of the Year' having competed from among three ports in contention for the coveted international award presented at the Seatrade Cruise Awards 2018. The awards ceremony this week took place…
Signing on the dotted line for Dublin Port’s new Pilot Boat were: Michael McKenna, Harbour Master, Dublin Port Company, Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company, Alan Goodchild, MD, Goodchild Marine, Steve Pierce, General Manager, Goodchild Marine.
Dublin Port Company has announced that the leading UK boat builder Goodchild Marine Services Limited has secured the contract to construct a new Pilot Boat for Dublin Port. The deal will see a new 17.1 metre ORC vessel delivered to…
#TheWorld - The World revisits Dublin where the capital continues to change, notably in the ongoing developing 'Docklands' financial quarter, a stone's throw away to where the largest private residential ship on the planet is docked, writes Jehan Ashmore. Prior…
#DublinPort - Dublin Port and the Little Museum of Dublin have announced a new Irish film prize with a commissioning fee of €20,000 to produce a new short film. The film will be seen by over 100,000 visitors to the…
A Dublin Port pilot along side a departing cargo ship on Dublin Bay
Dublin Port today launched its Masterplan 2040 Reviewed 2018, updating the long-term development plan for the port first published in 2012. Masterplan 2040 Reviewed 2018 sets out four key changes to the port’s development plans: The port will now be…
Pictured was Lord Mayor of Dublin and Honorary Admiral of Dublin Port, Nial Ring with Dolores Wilson, chairperson of  St Andrew’s Resource Centre South Docks Festival, and Betty Ashe of St Andrew’s Resource Centre, Lucy McCaffrey, Chairperson Dublin Port Company and Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company
The new Lord Mayor of Dublin, Nial Ring, yesterday took to the waters of Dublin Bay to take part in the annual ‘Casting of the Spear’ ceremony. The ‘Casting of the Spear’ is a tradition dating back 530 years and…
Queen of the Fleet – the East Wall racing skiff An Tulcha
Cormac Lowth of Dublin is a one-man Maritime Institute writes W M Nixon. He has an incredible memory, encyclopaedic knowledge, and an exceptional collection of nautical memorabilia. There’s always something of special interest when one of his missives pings into…
Irish Olympic diver Ollie Dingley
Dublin Port Company is helping Irish Olympic diver Ollie Dingley (26) to scale new heights as the first corporate sponsor to support the rising star as he bids to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  Dingley is an international diver…
Berthing Licences Join White-Water Course As Part Of Draft ‘Water Animation Strategy’ For Dublin Docklands
#Docklands - The recent design tender for a white-water kayaking course at Dublin’s George’s Dock is part of a wider ‘Water Animation Strategy’ for the city’s Docklands. Submissions are due this Tuesday 15 May for parties interested in another phase…
Making an impression: MSC Meraviglia, leadship of a new next-generation of 5,700 passenger capacity cruiseships. The giant cruiseship will be the largest to visit Irish waters as the vessel is scheduled to call to Dublin Port in the early hours of tomorrow, Saturday, 5 May
#DublinPort - MSC Meraviglia is set to break a record (in passenger capacity) as the largest ever ship to visit an Irish port with a maiden call to Dublin Port in the early hours of tomorrow, writes Jehan Ashmore. At…
The Royal Princess will hold a commanding presence in the city’s port with her size more than two-and-a-half times the length of Dublin’s Spire
The 330m Royal Princess cruise ship arrived in Dublin this afternoon carrying more than 3,000 passengers and crew. Her arrival kickstarts a record cruise season for Dublin Port with 151 cruise calls confirmed for 2018, bringing just over 270,000 visitors…
Tug boat Shackleton and Celebrity Eclipse arriving into Dublin Port. The 2,850 guest Celebrity Eclipse has arrived in Dublin to become the first ever cruise ship to be based from the port. Celebrity Cruises will operate five cruises from Dublin Port in 2018 that will see over 14,000 people start their holiday from the city.  Calling Dublin home until June 2018, Celebrity Eclipse's regular departures from the city are each expected to bring an estimated €1 million in knock-on economic benefits to the area. Celebrity Cruises has already committed to return in 2019
The first cruise ship to ever be based in Dublin has arrived into port. Celebrity Eclipse from Celebrity Cruises will bring 2,850 guests into the city each time a sailing starts from Dublin Port. In total, over 14,000 people will…
#DublinPort - Celine, the world's largest short-sea ro-ro ship that was christened yesterday in Dublin Port, is this evening sailing through the English Channel off the Contentin Peninsula, France, on the direct continental link to mainland Europe, writes Jehan Ashmore.…
 Port workers looking on to the MV Celine, the world’s largest short sea Ro-Ro ship owned by CLdN, christened at Dublin Port
MV Celine, the world’s largest short sea Ro-Ro ship, was christened yesterday in a ceremony at Dublin Port with guest of honour, An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, Godmother to the new ship, Geraldine O’Reilly, and the port’s chaplains. The formal…
The sheer size of MV Celine is demonstrated in this starboard side elevation view of the giant ro-ro ship docking in Dublin Port (in January) where the 74,000grt newbuild is to be christened in a naming ceremony tomorrow, 20 April.
#DublinPort - A big day awaits Dublin Port and major customer, CLdN ro ro SA as their newbuild MV Celine, the world's largest short-sea ro-ro ship arrived in the port today in advance of tomorrow's christening ceremony, writes Jehan Ashmore. …
Containerships docked in Ireland's largest port, Dublin where annual volumes of goods is expected to rise to 77.2 million tonnes by 2040. Afloat adds the containerships are docked at the DFT Terminal, one of three Lo-Lo facilities located in the port estate.
#DublinPort- Expansion in Dublin Port will happen at a faster than expected pace over the next 20 years as population growth boosts volumes passing through the country's main goods gateway, the semi-state company behind the port said. As the Independent.ie…

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.