Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

UK's Port of Dover Celebrates New Marina Opening

21st April 2023
Dover Marina will become home to over 160 yachts and small leisure boats after opening this month
Dover Marina will become home to over 160 yachts and small leisure boats after opening this month

The new Dover marina, now taking pride of place at the UK's busiest international ferry port on the UK south coast, will become home to over 160 yachts and small leisure boats after opening this month. Around 50 berth holders are already in the new site permanently, with more continuing to move over throughout the first half of 2023.

With the sun beaming down, the White Cliffs and Dover Castle as a backdrop, and some of the most prestigious cruise ships sitting alongside, the Marina becomes a star of Dover’s revived waterfront.

Surrounded by the Marina Curve and only a short walk from Dover Priory station, it provides the perfect opportunity for visitors and berth holders to celebrate local culture and history through new leisure experiences and events.

With the first glimpse of spring and a fresh look and identity recently launched by the Port, Dover's biggest ever all year-round events showcase has been announced for English Tourism Week, with the new waterfront as its baseWith the first glimpse of spring and a fresh look and identity recently launched by the Port, Dover's biggest ever all year-round events showcase has been announced for English Tourism Week, with the new waterfront as its base

Last year’s events on the Marina Curve already proved extremely popular, and with the Marina now open, the waterfront will provide fantastic entertainment and leisure opportunities this spring/summer season.

Doug Bannister, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover said:

“The Port is transforming, and the Marina opening is the perfect showcase of our new modern look and identity. My thanks go to the Marina and Dover Western Docks Revival (DWDR) teams for working so hard to provide this world leading facility for our berth holders.

It’s also a fantastic new attraction for Dover and being perfectly situated next to our cruise terminals, brings communities together from across the nation and globally. We face a bright future, and I am confident that the waterfront will soon become one of the best destinations for exploring the South East coast.”

Chris Windsor, Marina Manager said:

“The official opening marks a milestone for the Marina and Port – I’m delighted that our berth holders have started to settle in their new, permanent base, and can make the most of the brilliant opportunities now available to them.

We take pride in being a seamless and sustainable port, and I have no doubt that the Marina and my team, will continue to provide berth holders with an exceptional experience and service.”

The highlight facilities for berth holders include a dedicated fueling station on its own berth, a hard standing and level boatyard with large capacity, and a new Marina office. All features of the new Marina and waterfront have been built around a sustainable mixed-use scheme.

The Dover Marina showcase will take place on 20th May, with tours, displays and demonstrations, plus boat sales, live music and street food.

A new year-round programme of events surrounding the Marina Curve has recently been announced, with more information here. 

Published in Ports & Shipping
Afloat.ie Team

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

Direct Donation to Afloat button