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Irish Ports Stories
Small Luxury Cruiseship Visits Killybegs
Ireland's leading fishing port of Killybegs, Co. Donegal, this morning received the 226 passenger yacht-like cruiseship Le Diamant, writes Jehan Ashmore. The 8,282 tonnes Le Diamant had sailed overnight from anchorage in Galway Bay and prior to visiting the 'City…
Veolia Environnement Clocks 15 Knots on Dublin Bay
The exotic French Trimaran Veolia Environnement was in Dalkey Sound this morning. The high speed craft circled around the island in modest north westerly winds and returned into Dublin Bay for what appeared to be a helicopter publicity-photoshoot. According to…
Tug-of-War to Visit Capital
An unusual visitor to Dublin Port in the form of the large German Navy salvage tug, Fehmarn (A1458) is to make a weekend courtesy call, writes Jehan Ashmore. The 1,289 gross tonnes Fehmarn (photo) is to arrive in the morning and…
Big Plans for Rosslare Europort
Ambitious plans to introduce load-on load-off (Lo-Lo) facilities at Rosslare Europort have been announced, according to a report in yesterday's Wexford People.   John Lynch, manager of the port talked about the expansion of the ports current role which is…
Spanish Point Site Could Be a Dream Investment
A half-acre site in the picturesque environs of Spanish Point, now on the market for €400,000, could prove to be a dream investment. The site in Ballycotton, Co Cork, which is the former location of the Spanish Point Restaurant and…
Crosbie’s Café Lightship Plan Rejected
Dublin docklands property developer Harry Crosbie has been refused permission to relocate the former lightship Kittiwake in front of the O2 Theatre, according to a report in today's Irish Times. Crosbie had intended to convert the 1959 built Kittiwake into…
Navy’s Night-Time Detention of Belgium Fishing Vessel
A Belgium registered fishing vessel was detained by the Naval Service off Co. Wexford late last night, writes Jehan Ashmore. The fishing vessel was apprehended by the CPV L.E. Ciara (P42) some 25 nautical miles to the south-west of the…
Varadkar Welcomes Payment of First-Ever Port of Cork Dividend
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has today welcomed the decision of the Port of Cork to pay the state a dividend of €634,315 in respect of 2010. This represents 30% of the Port's after tax profits and…
Container Ship Refloated After Beaching in Cornwall
A container ship en route from Cork to Rotterdam has been freed after running aground off Cornwall. http://www.afloat.ie/port-news/port-and-shipping-news/ BBC News reports that the 131m-long Karin Schepers was beached near St Just early this morning. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-14384139 Rescue teams were alerted to…
Minister Coveney Lends His Support for Cork Harbour Open Day
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Mr Simon Coveney T.D was in Ringaskiddy at the National Maritime College of Ireland today to help promote Cork Harbour Open Day 2011. The event which takes place on Saturday 10th September is…
Galway Harbour Development Gets Go-Ahead for Planning Application
The proposed €200 million redevelopment of Galway Harbour has received approval to submit a planning application to An Bord Pleanála, according to Build.ie. http://www.build.ie/construction_news.asp?newsid=129784 As reported previously on Afloat.ie, the Galway Harbour Company's €200 million scheme involves moving the port…
Record Profits for Foynes Port as Tonnage Increases
A record operating profit of €2.5 million for last year was made by the Shannon Foynes Port Company, according to a report in today's Irish Times. The profit of the mid-western port is on foot of a 23% increase in…
Irish Lights Appoint New Chief Executive
Yvonne Shields has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Commissioners of Irish Lights. She takes over her new role of the Dun Laoghaire Harbour based General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) next month from chief executive Dr Stuart Ruttle…
Royal Irish Launches 'Best in the Bay' Competition
The Royal Irish Yacht Club is gearing up to host the inaugural Best In The Bay 2011 Shootout this Sunday the 31st July 2011. The Best In The Bay is a new sailing event designed to take the top helms…
‘Call for Events’- Cork Harbour Open Day
This year's Cork Harbour Open Day will take place on Saturday 10th September. The event aims to embrace the best of what Cork Harbour has to offer. The Open Day seeks to raise awareness of the different free activities and…
Athlone Man to Swim Galway Bay for Charity
The Westmeath Independent reports that Athlone man Jim O'Connor is preparing to swim 13km across Galway Bay for charity. http://afloat.ie/watersport/open-sea-swimming/ http://www.afloat.ie/port-news/galway-harbour/ Jim will join 25 other brave swimmers on Sunday 20 August in the Frances Thornton Memorial Galway Bay Swim…

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.”