Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The importance of good and effective communication between all those on the bridge of a ship when working in a port with local harbour pilots has been stressed at a conference in Cork yesterday on the topic of ‘Pilotage today…

#PortAward - The Scottish south-west Port of Ayr, (south of Troon, see ferry report) part of the large UK ports owned group, ABP, won the top accolade at this year’s company chairman’s awards, writes Jehan Ashmore. The award is the ‘Oscars’…

#Soft/HardPorts - The Irish Times writes delegates at the All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit held in Dublin yesterday, heard that the UK are unaware of the hurt and anger towards it across EU. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has forecast “vicious” negotiations over…

#GlobalSulphur - The International Maritime Organistions IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has reached an agreement on global sulphur cap. The IMO last week agreed in favour of maintaining the deadline of 2020 for introducing a global cap of 0.5%…

#CarImports - Afloat earlier this month reflected on Ireland-Bristol Channel routes past and present serving the UK motor industry and of Nissan that denied speculation it would move from its major plant in Sunderland to Cork following Britain's vote on Brexit. The…

#IMDOappointments - The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) announcement of two new appointments to key management positions has been welcomed here on Afloat.ie, which offers the only regular ports & shipping coverage. Dr Edel O’Connor joins the IMDO as Business…

#Ardmore - Ardmore Shipping operators of chemical and product tankers (25,000 to 50,000dwt) has selected the UK P&I Club as its second P&I club. On the back of the steady growth in the size of the Ardmore fleet which now…

#CapeLaunch – A cargoship was launched today for Irish owners as the second of 10 in a new series from a shipyard in the Netherlands, writes Jehan Ashmore. Ferus Smit’s Dutch yard in Westerbroek, is where the single hold 5,054dwt cargoship,…

#IrishEXports - A total €9.5bn worth of goods were exported to the United Kingdom in the first eight months of this year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). As reported on Newstalk, this represented a €300m drop from the…

#Shipping - Five people were found in a shipping container in Wexford at the weekend, as BreakingNews.ie reports. The three men, a woman and a young girl, all believed to be Kurdish, were discovered at a haulage yard in New…

#Lamentable – The decision to close the largest graving dock in the state in Dublin Port has been described as ‘lamentable’ by the Maritime Institute of Ireland, writes Jehan Ashmore. According to the M.I.I.’s latest biannual newsletter, the Institute expresses…

#ShippingReview - Jehan Ashmore reviews the shipping scene from among the following stories over the last fortnight. In the 'Top 150 Born in Ireland' report, according to the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) the leading largest indigenous companies in that sector…

#GiantCranes - The last batch of giant cranes for the Irish Sea's newest container terminal, the £400m Liverpool2 deep-water port development arrived by sea from China onto the River Mersey in recent days. In May, Afloat reported on the first delivery…

#Appointment - Ardmore Shipping Corporation which relocated its Principal Operating Office from Mahon outside Cork to the city centre in recent months, has appointed Jorge Lavin as the company's Financial Controller. In his new position, Jorge is closely involved in helping…

#IrishBrexitPorts- Irish ports and airports is where the UK are proposing to transfer frontline immigration controls to, writes The Irish Independent in measures to avoid enforcing a ‘hard border’ between the North and the Republic. Northern Ireland Secretary, James Brokenshire, has…

#Pilotage - The Irish Institute of Master Mariners, together with the Port of Cork, NMCI Ports and the Nautical Institute (Irish Branch) are to host a major conference on Pilotage. The two-day conference at the National Maritime College of Ireland…