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Dublin Port News
The fascinating Russian re-creation of a 1703 warship of Peter the Great, the Shtandard (right) will be one of the stars of this weekend’s Dublin Port Riverfest. While she lacks the size of the almost unmanageably large Kruzenshtern (left), Shtandard has proven herself a wonderful seagoing ambassador, and will be in Dublin port direct from the Morbihan Festival in France
For anyone interested in boats and the sea, the June Bank Holiday Weekend is always busy with multiple maritime happenings, many of which will be of interest to all the family writes W M Nixon. But if sailing is specifically…
The UK ThunderCats power boats will be headlining the event with their first ever Dublin performance
Dublin Port is preparing to help some 100,000 visitors discover their sea legs this June bank holiday weekend at Riverfest 2017, Ireland’s premier sailing and maritime festival. Now in its fifth year, the three-day maritime event will provide an €1…
#TransitGateway - As part of “Port Perspectives”, Transit Gateway is a project that documents the transitional changes of the shape of Dublin Port from its medieval shoreline to its current infrastructure. This months free seminar: Mapping Phase 4 Dublin Port 1867-1897…
MSC Preziosa was originally to be named Phoenicia from an order placed in a French yard by a Libyan state-owned company. The civil war that broke out in 2011 however put an end to that arrangement.
#SplendidSister - A near sister of MSC Splendida which at 333m became the longest ever cruiseship to visit Dublin in recent years is currently docked in port, writes Jehan Ashmore. The cruiseship is MSC Preziosa that called yesterday to Greenock,…
On the May Bank Holiday Monday, artist Sheelagh Broderick is holding a public meet up on the Great South Wall for a "work in progress" review.
#PortWalks - Download, walk & listen with the Dublin Port Walks this May Bank Holiday Monday where there is an opportunity to engage with your surroundings on a walk and through a free site specific public artwork. Port Walks is an…
#Cementships - A cement cargoship due to dock in Dublin Port today from Runcorn on the Manchester Ship Canal is where until the early 1990’s Guinness imported to the UK using their own stout tankers, writes Jehan Ashmore. That trade…
Transit Gateway Mapping Phase 3: Dublin Port from 1786-1866
#TransitGateway - As part of “Dublin Port Perspectives”, Transit Gateway is a project that documents the transitional changes of the shape of Dublin Port from its medieval shoreline to its current infrastructure. This will be third seminar so far of…
Total throughput at Dublin Port for the three months to the end of March was 8.7 million gross tonnes with 1,843 ship arrivals, equivalent to 20 ships each day
Dublin Port Company today published trade statistics for the first quarter of 2017 showing continued strong growth of 4.2% after last year’s record throughput of 34.9 million gross tonnes. Dublin Port also announced that it will pay a dividend to the State…
#ABRnotices - As part Dublin Port's Alexandra Basin Regeneration ABR Project, the existing Lead in Jetty located outside Graving Dock Number 2 that closed in February, is to be demolished. Afloat adds tallship Jeanie Johnston made history as the last dry-docked…
One of the puppies recovered on Saturday night at Dublin Port in the fourth such seizure this year
#DublinPort - Puppies and dogs were seized by Garda and Dublin Port security on Saturday night (1 April) in the fourth such incident this year. The animals were reportedly being exported without valid pet passports. The majority of those recovered…
The new Dodder Bridge would cross between the south quays and York Road in Ringsend
#DublinPort - A new public transport bridge for Dublin’s south quays will receive more than €15 million under a new State infrastructure scheme to encourage new housing. As TheJournal.ie reports, the proposed Dodder Bridge would span between Britain Quay and…
#PortPerspectives - Artists commissioned to create a series of site-specific public artworks were announced by Dublin Port Campany. They were chosen in response to Dublin Port's new programme Port Perspectives and its relationship with the City. New works by Sheelagh…
#Visitors - A French naval vessel, a UK based cruiseship and a local excursion boat are in Dublin Port to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, writes Jehan Ashmore. The French Navy are represented in the capital with the presence of the…
Jeanie Johnston has finally returned to her Dublin city-centre Liffey berth at Custom House Quay where is located the EPIC museum on Irish emigration that have organised guided walking tours about the historic port over the St. Patrick's weekend. Behind the tallship is the Samuel Beckett swing bridge (see related report link below) that also referred to the notable construction of 'Capital Dock' (right of Poolbeg stacks on the skyline) that is part of the Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).
#WalkingTours – Award-winning guide and historian Pat Liddy will present special walking tours of Dublin’s historic docklands and the port as part of the St Patrick's Festival weekend. The tours are organised by EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum at the…
TRANSIT GATEWAY Mapping Phase 2: 'Dublin Port from 1708 to 1785 / Walls of Protection' is the second of nine seminars that charts the evolving changes of the historic port over the centuries to the present day.
#TransitGateway - As part of “Dublin Port Perspectives”, Transit Gateway is a project that documents the transitional changes of the shape of Dublin Port from its medieval shoreline to its current infrastructure. Following the recent introductory seminar of Transit Gateway, the…
The first in a series of nine seminar phases of 'Transit Gateway- A Deep Mapping of Dublin Port' begins next week in the capital. Each specific seminar is dedicated to charting the evolving changes of the historic port over the centuries to the present day.
#TransitGateway – The introductory seminar phase of 'Transit Gateway- A Deep Mapping of Dublin Port' organised by Silvia Loeffler is to take place next week in the capital. The project is part of “Dublin Port Perspectives 2017” that documents 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.