Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Assembly sites

Ireland is setting itself the ambitious goal of developing 5,000MW of offshore wind energy by the end of the decade, in the meantime ports and harbours around the country are putting in place plans and infrastructure to facilitate such development. 

This according to the Irish Examiner, will allow Irish Ports to help deliver, assemble and service the various pieces of infrastructure required.

Onshore wind farms are already a common sight on Irish hills and mountains and they will be joined shortly by the rapid growth of solar farms. However offshore wind is seen as one of the fastest-growing industries that will provide a significant portion of the power required for the country to become completely carbon neutral by 2050.

To meet the goal of 5,000MW by 2030, up to ten separate wind farms will be needed. Plans have been announced or foreshore applications lodged for a number of floating wind farms off the eastern, southern and west coasts.

Last week the Government published the National Marine Planning Framework establishing a planning system for these projects. However, port companies around the country are gearing up for the extensive support industry that will be needed and have been joined by an increasing number of new firms set up in anticipation of the growing industry.

The newspaper also features related plans for Cork Harbour, Rosslare Port and Shannon Foynes. 

Published in Irish Ports

As an island economy, a healthy maritime sector is key to our national competitiveness. Virtually all our imports and exports pass through Irish ports.

Ireland is dependent on ports and shipping services to transport goods and 90% of our trade is moved though Irish ports. Shipping and maritime transport services make a significant contribution to Ireland’s ocean economy, with the sector generating €2.3 billion in turnover and employing over 5,000 people in 2018.

Ireland’s maritime industry continues to grow and progress each year with Irish ports and shipping companies making significant investments. The ports sector in Ireland is currently undergoing a number of expansions and developments with Dublin Port’s Alexandra Basin development, the development of Ringaskiddy in Cork by Port of Cork and the development of Shannon Foynes Port. Along with these major investments, shipping companies are also investing heavily in new tonnage, with Irish Ferries, CLdN and Stena leading new build programmes.

These pages cover the following sectoral areas: shipowners, harbour authorities, shipbrokers, freight forwarders and contractors, cruise liner operators, port users, seamen, merchants, academic institutions, shipyards and repair facilities, naval architects, navy and defence personnel.

Our pages are covering some of the most notable arrivals around our coast and reporting too on port development and shipping news.

This section of the site deals with Port and Shipping News on our largest ports Dublin Port, Port of Cork, the Shannon Estuary, Galway Harbour and Belfast Lough.

A recent study carried out for the Irish Ports Association (IPA) totalled 75.7 billion during 2004 and their net economic impact was some 5.5 billion supporting around 57, 500 full time employees.

Liam Lacey, Director of the Marine Institute’s Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) said, “The Irish maritime industry can look to the future with confidence. It has shown itself to be resilient and agile in responding to challenges. Over the past decade, it has had to respond to the challenges of the financial crisis of 2008, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and recent challenges. Ireland’s maritime sector has continued to underpin our economy by maintaining vital shipping links for both trade and tourism.”