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Displaying items by tag: European Heritage Ports

#HeritagePorts – What do the following five European ports; Antwerp, Cartagena, Dover, Livorno and Olso share in common?

The answer is that they have been selected for the shortlist of the European Sea Port Organisation's (ESPO) Award on Societal Integration of Ports.

The jury shortlisted the five port applications from a total of 14 submissions for the fifth edition of the ESPO Award. The theme of this year's competition is 'Heritage', because societal integration of ports also means focusing on the contemporary use and disclosure of port traditions.

The public interest in heritage has increased considerably in recent years and has gained strong tourist potential. Most ports boast rich collections of industrial and other heritage, including equipment, buildings and monuments.

This potential can be used in an innovative way not just to explain a port's history, but also to make the connection with present and future development. The iconic value and contemporary use of port heritage can also be employed as a strong promotion tool.

"Many European ports value and cultivate their heritage. Our job was to choose the most exciting projects among a very varied selection of them. Several stood out as particularly creative and visionary. Now we need to choose between them," said jury chairman John Richardson.

The winner of the fifth ESPO Award will be announced on 6 November, during the traditional ceremony that will be held at the Town Hall of Brussels.

The ESPO Award was established in 2009 to promote innovative projects of port authorities that improve societal integration of ports, especially with the city or wider community in which they are located. In this way, the Award wants to stimulate the sustainable development of European ports and their cities.

The shortlisted projects will be presented on the ESPO website in the running up to 6 November.

 

Published in Ports & Shipping

Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.

© Afloat 2020