Irish Port and Shipping News

World Maritime Day is underway today with events globally to highlight this year's theme of 'Sustainable' Shipping

Today is World Maritime Day 2020 – Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet

24th September 2020 Ports & Shipping

Today is World Maritime Day which the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the global maritime community have come together to celebrate the annual event. The 2020 theme is "Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet". 2020 saw everyone across the globe…

ESPO - “For European ports, there is no time to waste, no money to waste. We must invest in technologies that are used, that deliver both in terms of decarbonisation and air quality and that deliver in emissions reductions both during navigation and at berth”

ESPO Calls for FuelEU Maritime that Clearly Sets Out Innovation & Investments in Maritime Sector

22nd September 2020 Ports & Shipping

Ongoing discussions on the future of FuelEU Maritime Initiative has led the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) to express the commitment of European ports is to play their part in helping the shipping sector decarbonise. The full ESPO position on…

The movement of goods into Northern Ireland from Britain is a key sticking point. Above the VT2 terminal at the Port of Belfast.

UK Government to Pay for Northern Ireland Brexit Port Controls after Minister Proposed Halting Work

17th September 2020 Ports & Shipping

In the UK the Government, according to Belfast Telegraph, is set to pay for work on post-Brexit port checks in Northern Ireland, DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has said. The DUP MLA told the BBC that the UK Government would now…

Ireland's newest cargsoship, Arklow Archer which made a first visit to Dublin Port this month having joined the Co. Wicklow shipowners fleet of almost 60 dry-cargo ships mostly operating in Europe and further overseas.

It's the Green Jersey As Newbuild Arklow Archer Joins Other 'A' Named Ships in Irish Waters

16th September 2020 Arklow Shipping

Ireland's newest cargoship Arklow Archer made a maiden call to Dublin Port marking the lastest of the A-series of bulk orientated dry-cargo vessels to be in Irish waters, writes Jehan Ashmore Arklow Archer joins the fleet of Arklow Shipping Ltd…

Port volumes in the UK fell by a fifth during the Q2 of this year as the pandemic took its toll on economic activity. Passenger and unitised cargoes saw the steepest downturns. Above: AFLOAT identifies a shipping scene of the former Irish 'homeported' cruiseship Magellan of operator CMV (in June went into administration) at Tilbury Docks, London where the aptly named tug Svitzer London assists a tanker on the Thames estuary.

Port Figures in UK Show Extent of Trade Downturn

14th September 2020 Ports & Shipping

Freight tonnage volumes moving through the UK’s ports fell by nearly a fifth in the second quarter of 2020, as the full impact of the pandemic took its toll, according to figures from the Department of Transport. Total volumes fell,…

Ro-ro freight ferry Mistral at Dublin Port with un-accompanied truck-trailer units along the North Wall Quay Extension

Expertise in Customs Arrangements Essential for Businesses Trading with UK from 1 Jan 2021-Says IEA

10th September 2020 Ports & Shipping

Irish Exporters Association has welcomed the publication yesterday of the Government’s Brexit Readiness Action Plan. The Association has been urging businesses to continue Brexit preparedness planning throughout the pandemic and is ensuring that developments in EU-UK negotiations are communicated to…

Horizon 2020 Virtual Brokerage Event On ‘European Green Deal’ Call For Proposals

9th September 2020 Ports & Shipping

The Enterprise Europe Network is hosting a virtual brokerage event next month on the call for proposals under the European Green Deal. The free one-day virtual event on Tuesday 13 October — in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, Invest NI and…

Firms are expected to face difficulty getting shipments through ports unless they have completed the correct customs procedures. ABOVE containers at a lo-lo terminal in Dublin Port.

Brexit Plan by Irish Government to Warn on Imports & Exports

7th September 2020 Ports & Shipping

Irish Government’s new Brexit plan will explicitly warn businesses that anyone trading with or moving goods through the UK will face changes, no matter the outcome of EU negotiations with Britain. The plan, writes The Irish Times, is scheduled to…

Containerships Adds Port Of Cork Call To Weekly Rotterdam-Ireland Service

4th September 2020 Port of Cork

Containerships, an affiliate of French container shipping group CMA CGM, is adding a call to the Port of Cork as part of its weekly Rotterdam-Ireland service. The enhancement to the BENI service started this past Tuesday 1 September, with weekly…

An annual Port Scholarship Scheme has been launched for Pembrokeshire students, south Wales, who are at university with the chance to win a £1,500 scholarship as well as a work placement at the Port of Milford Haven.

Welsh Port’s Scholarship Scheme Opens for Pembrokeshire University Students

2nd September 2020 Ports & Shipping

Port scholarships for university students from Pembrokeshire, south Wales are being encouraged for them to apply to the Port of Milford Haven’s scholarship scheme. The annual initiative offers undergraduate students the chance to apply for an award of £1,500, as…

Entrance to the Port of Rotterdam which has renewed its EcoPorts’ Port environmental Review system (PERS). Europe's biggest port has trading routes connecting Irish ports among them Dublin Port where direct ro-ro and lo-lo services operate in maintaining vital trade of exports and imports.

Port of Rotterdam: ESPO Congratulates for Renewing It's EcoPorts’ PERS Standard

27th August 2020 Ports & Shipping

The Port of Rotterdam has been congratulated from the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) for renewing its EcoPorts’ Port environmental Review system (PERS), the only port sector specific environmental management standard. Being PERS certified requires amongst others that the port…

Correspondent, Alex Thomson heads out from Sheerness to the site of the ship-wreck (only around one mile offshore) on the Thames Estuary. Afloat also adds that Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey was a former ferryport connecting Vlissingen, the Netherlands up to 1994. Among the Olau Line ferries operating was Olau Britannia which many years later served Cork-Swansea as Julia under Fastnet Line which ceased in 2011.

Thames Ship Wreck With Thousands of Tons of Explosives Could Cause Beirut-Style Explosion

24th August 2020 Ports & Shipping

Almost three weeks ago the massive 'port' explosion which devastated a large swathe of the Lebanese capital Beirut sent shock waves through the world. But could such a tragedy ever happen here? The SS Richard Montgomery ran aground and sank…

'Box' boats rates: But how cargo demand evolves after the summer peak season is difficult to predict, says Alphaliner. Above an ocean going containership underway

Container Trade on Asia-Europe Rates Vulnerable to Newbuild Deliveries & Downturn

24th August 2020 Ports & Shipping

On the major East-West box trades, ocean freight rates might be surging just as the new vessel orderbook for container ships look bare but that does not mean the outlook for carriers will remain bright indefinitely. According to the latest…

SEMRU Seeking Postdoctoral Researcher In Maritime Transport Economics

22nd August 2020 Jobs

The Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) at NUI Galway is now inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates for a four-year full-time, fixed-term contract as a postdoctoral researcher. Working with colleagues in SEMRU, the successful candidate will produce research aimed at…

World’s largest shipping line, Maersk reinstates and upgrades its full-year guidance for 2020 despite expectations of further year-on-year volume losses. Above AFLOAT's photo of Mette Maersk leadship of the G-series, berthed at Port of Felixstowe, the UK's biggest 'box'boat terminal.

World's Largest Container Line Maersk Reports of Profits Up on Lower Volumes & Higher Rates

19th August 2020 Ports & Shipping

The world’s largest container shipping line, Maersk, saw profits spike during second quarter pandemic lockdowns as declining volumes were offset by higher freight rates and reduced operating costs. Parent company A.P. Moller-Maersk (APMM), writes LloydsLoadingList, reported improved profitability across all…

Customs clearing agents have been allowed back to the (Port of Beirut container) terminal and the first two ships have been worked. AFLOAT adds the photo posted in 2019 by the Port of Beirut facebook page shows in the distance the grain silo (see centre below container gantry) that was severely damaged from last week's catastrophic explosion. On the left is one of the former Irish port serving Nissan Car Carrier's (blull hull) ship's since sold for conversion as a livestock ship. To assist people, UNICEF have launched a campaign (www.unicef.ie/donate/lebanon) on the ground ready to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid, medicine, clean water and food to those in need.

Lebanon: Port of Beirut's Container Terminal Resumes Operation

13th August 2020 Ports & Shipping

At the Port of Beirut the container terminal has reopened a week after an explosion that devastated much of the Lebanese capital. The first two containerships to call at the port, LloydsLoadingList reports, berthed on August 10 as the box…