#NAVAL VISIT – A sistership of the French Naval patrol vessel that performed 'guardship' duties during last year's La Solitaire du Figaro Race to Dun Laoghaire (click HERE), is due to dock in Dublin Port in advance of St. Patrick's weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore.

PSP Pluvier (P678) is a 54m offshore patrol vessel (OPV) that belongs to a trio of the'Flamant' class, the remaining pair are the leadship PSP Flamant (P676) and PSP Cormoran (P677). The latter OPV escorted the race fleet on the second leg between Ouistreham (Caen) to Dun Laoghaire, the only international port of call of the prestigious race.

The naval visitor is the last of the sisters built and was constructed in Cherbourg at Chantier des Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN). She entered service in 1997 and carries out patrols in seas up to 200 nautical miles offshore of the French économique exclusive zone (ZEE).

She is scheduled to arrive on Thursday afternoon and berth at Sir John Rogersons Quay, downriver from the Samuel Beckett swing-bridge.

#DUBLIN PORT–Dublin Port Company will invest €110m from its own reserves over next five years in the Capital's port it was announced this morning when a long term master plan was unveiled. The final Masterplan is available for download below.

Port Chief Executive Eamon O'Reilly says the size of the port will remain the same for the next 10 years, but after that, expansion will be needed.

"We reckon we have enough of a footprint at the moment to last us for growth for about a decade or maybe even a bit more than that," Mr O'Reilly told the Irish Examiner.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Vradkar launched Dublin Port Company's Masterplan 2012 to 2040 today. The plan sets out the framework for the long-term development of Ireland's largest and most important port. Implementing the plan will cost in excess of €600m over the next 30 years which will be financed from the company's own resources.

Dublin Port Company has already committed to investing €110m over the first five years of the Masterplan period.

The launch of the Masterplan follows a year-long consultation with business, community, industry and government stakeholders.

Launching Dublin Port Company's Masterplan 2012-2040, a framework for the long-term development of Dublin Port which will be financed from the company's own resources, were Minister for Transport, Mr. Leo Varadkar T.D., Mr. Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port Company, Ms. Lucy McCaffrey, Chairperson of Dublin Port Company and Dublin City Manager, Dr. John Tierney

Central to the Masterplan is ensuring Dublin Port's capacity to service Ireland's future import and export trading needs both efficiently and competitively. The Masterplan now provides Dublin Port Company and its stakeholders with a clear view as to how the port will be developed over the long-term.

In economic terms, it will mean Dublin Port Company will be ready to handle 60 million tonnes of goods by 2040, double its current throughput based on a modest assumed growth of 2.5% per annum.

The Masterplan is founded on three principles:

· Maximising the use of existing lands;

· Reintegrating the port with the city; and

· Developing the port to the highest environmental standards.

The Masterplan has clearly shown that Dublin Port will need to expand over the next 30 years. However, the port has some breathing space because of the economic downturn and can now cater for projected growth for a decade or more within its existing footprint. The initial investment under the Masterplan will be focussed on maximising the use of the port's existing capacity. Projects involving reclamation will only be advanced if and when they become necessary and if they can meet exacting planning and environmental protection standards.

Among the first projects that Dublin Port Company has identified to achieve its aims is the building of a dedicated car storage compound on a site between East Wall Road and the Dublin Port Tunnel. This facility would free up valuable quay-side space for port activity.

Another major initiative is the construction of a new cruise facility adjacent to the east of the East Link Bridge to accommodate over 135,000 passengers and almost 90 cruise liners each season. The company believes that the option identified in Dublin City Council's Cruise Tourism Local Action Plan of the North Quay extension would provide the optimum location for this, bringing high spending passengers and crew within easy reach of the Luas and city centre shops, eateries and attractions.

To progress this concept, Dublin Port Company has formed Cruise Dublin, a joint initiative with Dublin City Council and Dublin Chamber of Commerce aimed at further developing the cruise tourism trade in Dublin. The first step will be to undertake a study of the needs of the cruise industry and to learn from best practice elsewhere how a suitable cruise terminal can be provided in Dublin. The estimated cost of the development is €30 million. This study will be concluded later this year with a view to having a cruise terminal in place by 2015.

Integrating Dublin Port with Dublin city and its citizens is another core aim of the plan. In that context, improved walkways and cycle paths, public viewing platforms, the installation of maritime art displays and softer port boundaries are among the initiatives intended to bring real community gain. The plan also envisages the development of a visitor centre which could include: displays of archive materials; old equipment used in the port; video displays of port operations and interactive features such as simulated crane operating and piloting a vessel safely into the port.

The Masterplan has also identified the potential for rail freight to grow over the next 30 years using Dublin Port's direct rail connections to all major train stations in Ireland. The use of the existing port rail network already removes 4,000 trucks from Irish roads every year and there is significant scope to increase this.

The development of a dedicated port distribution centre under the Masterplan would provide a hub for smaller, greener vehicles to service the city's businesses in a greener, more efficient way.

Launching Dublin Port Company's Masterplan, Leo Varadkar, TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said; "This is a comprehensive plan for the long-term development of Dublin Port on its current site. As Ireland's most important port, Dublin Port is a vital part of our national infrastructure. It has a significant role to play in growing exports, growing jobs, and also in growing tourism, with 87 cruise ships calling last year. This Masterplan follows a detailed consultation process and will ensure that Dublin Port continues to make a real contribution to the local economy, and to our export-led recovery."

Lucy McCaffrey, Chairperson of Dublin Port Company, said: "While the impetus for producing this Masterplan has been to provide Dublin Port Company and all its stakeholders with a clear view as to how Dublin Port will develop over the next 30 years, we have endeavoured to strike a balance between the economic needs of the city and improving the aesthetics of the port and better integrating it with the city. We look forward to embarking on a range of initiatives to bring this commitment and the Masterplan to life in local communities. Our plan also envisages the development of a visitor centre which will show Dubliners the history of the port and provide an insight into its workings in an innovative and interactive way."

Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port Company, said: "This is an exciting time in the development of Dublin Port. For the past year we've consulted extensively to get to the position today where we can unveil our Masterplan for the development of Dublin Port over the next 30 years. The projects identified under this plan will be advanced in stages based on capacity, economic demand and our ability to finance them. The fact that we're committing to a €110 million investment programme over the next five years shows our intent to implement the Masterplan. It is worth noting also that under the Masterplan, Dublin Port Company has committed to continuing to develop Dublin Port within its current footprint to the maximum extent possible before considering projects involving major land reclamation. Any projects from the Masterplan will be subject to the existing planning processes."

Welcoming the Masterplan, John Tierney, City Manager, said: "Dublin Port has always been a key part of Dublin city's economic infrastructure, facilitating trade and supporting jobs in the capital. It's hugely important that the appropriate facilities and infrastructure are in place at Dublin Port as the city looks to future growth and development both from a trade and tourism perspective. In particular, the launch today of Cruise Dublin shows how Dublin Port Company is working with Dublin City Council and others to develop the hugely valuable cruise tourism trade even further. Work is already underway to assess the feasibility of constructing a dedicated €30 million cruise terminal in Dublin Port by 2015."

The final Masterplan is available for download below

The Dublin Port Company Masterplan 2012–2040 will be launched by the Minister for Transport, Mr. Leo Varadkar T.D. on Wednesday.

Mr. Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive, Ms Lucy McCaffrey, Chairperson of Dublin Port Company and Dr. John Tierney, Dublin City Manager will be among those at the launch at Port HQ on Alexandra Road, Dublin 1.

#FREIGHT FERRY NEWS- Seatruck Power (2011/19,722grt) made her debut on the Dublin-Liverpool route last week, bringing an additional boost to freight capacity and follows her sister which only entered service in December, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The newbuild joins the leadship Seatruck Progress (see related report) on the central corridor service and another pair are due for completion by mid-year and are to be deployed on Seatruck's other Irish Sea routes.

The quartet, were all ordered from the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) yard in Germany. At 142m long, each of the 150-unit capacity newbuilds carry an additional 35 units compared to the 'P' class vessels, in which two of these vessels have been replaced from the Liverpool route.

Each sister has space for 2,166 lane freight metres spread across four decks, where on this particular deck hazardous and refrigerated cargo can be handled. They are also designed to carry rolling project cargo and heavy-lift items.

#CRUISELINERS– A vessel at first glanced resembling that of a Mississippi riverboat in reality an ocean-going cruiseship designed also to serve on the US Great Lakes, docked in Dublin Port today, reports Jehan Ashmore.

The 91m Sea Discoverer (4,954grt) berthed at the port's Ocean Pier and without any passengers on board, as the 294 capacity vessel was making an en-route repositioning voyage from the UK to mainland Europe.

Her brief port of call was to carry out a crew-change, following an overnight passage from Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, where she had completed a near six-month charter.

Her owners International Shipping Partners (ISP) chartered the luxuriously appointed vessel (click PHOTOS) to Siemens Wind UK for use as an accommodation quarters for personnel working at a wind-turbine installation project.

Sea Discoverer had made a previous call to Dublin Port during August, where the vessel loaded stores and bunkers prior to completing the voyage to Barrow-in-Furness, following a trans-Atlantic voyage.

She is classified by Lloyd's Register (100 A1 LMC) and built to SOLAS (Safety at  Life at Sea) lifesaving according to 46CFR and SOLAS 2000.

The Bahamas-flagged vessel has a straight-stemmed bow and a cruiser-stern which are most unusual for a ship only completed in 2001 and to be seen in Irish waters.

Such features reflect her original 'intended' purpose as she was launched as Cape Cod Light along with an earlier sister Cape May Light at the Atlantic Marine shipyard, Jacksonville in Florida.

They were commissioned for American Classic Voyages who planned to operate the sisters in the Great Lakes during the summer months and along the US East coast during Spring and the 'Fall' and the Mexican Gulf as far as Belize for the winter.

American Classic Voyages went bankrupt right after the introduction of Cape May Light (now Sea Voyager) also owned by ISP, which manages a diverse fleet on the charter market globally.

The bankruptcy was due to the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the unfinished second sister Cape Cod Light (Sea Discoverer) was repossessed by the shipyard and eventually sold to ISP.

Incidentally American Classic Voyages had acquired the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, operators of the famous Mississippi riverboat Delta Queen, hence the design influence in the Cape May Light and her sister respectively. For photo of the 'Cape's seen moored together click HERE.

According to ISP they are negotiating another charter for Sea Discoverer, also for accommodation purposes  in Northern Europe, and they hope to have the contract completed next week.

She sailed out of Dublin Bay late this afternoon, passing The Muglins off Dalkey Island. Her brief call to Dublin Port certainly made for a most usual call by a cruiseship whose role was to operate in the Lakes and on the High Seas.

#PORTS & SHIPPING – As previously reported on Afloat.ie Maersk Line's newly launched liner service that includes the return of the banana trade to the Port of Cork continues as another shipment is due from Central America /Caribbean ports with the arrival of Nedlloyd Adriana (photo) tomorrow, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Nedlloyd Adriana (2003/ 26,833grt) is a younger sister of Maersk Nolanville (2004/26,833grt) which previously docked at the Ringaskiddy Deepwater Berth as part of the services weekly call. Onboard the 2,500 (TEU) twenty equivalent unit capacity containerships, they include 800 (reefer points) i.e electrically plugged in refrigerated containers to store perishable products.

Noting the cargo deck arrangement is divided by the superstructure, which in vessel design terms is not unusual, but is not normally seen in Irish waters due to this larger sized containership. She is fitted with three deck-mounted cranes positioned forward of the bridge and a single-aft crane to cater for the smaller cargo-deck astern.

The vessel was built in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan and was launched as Adriana Star. She was  later renamed P&O Nedlloyd Adriana until dropping her operators prefix in 2004.

When the vessel has completed operations in Ringaskiddy, she heads to UK and continental ports to complete the liner service which is served in total by a pool of eight similar sized vessels.

The term 'liner' service refers to a dedicated regularly operated network of long-distance routes across oceans that connect ports between the continents.

The liner service is complemented by an onward internal network of short-seas routes known as 'feeder' services and use smaller containerships such as Vega Stockholm (photo) which calls to Dublin Port (see BBC The 'Box') as previously reported on Afloat.ie

As in the case of the Maersk Line liner service which brings bananas from source directly to Cork, there is no requirement to transfer such cargo by feeder vessel from another port in the UK or mainland Europe.

#PORTS – Dublin Port Company today published trade statistics for 2011. Total throughput in 2011 was broadly in line with 2010, down by only 0.1% to 28.1m tonnes. Within this, however, exports continued to grow and were up 2.8% in the year at 11.5m tonnes.

2011 trade statistics summary:

Total throughput – 28.1m tonnes, down 0.1%

Exports – 11.5m tonnes up 2.8%

Imports – 16.6m tonnes down 2.0%

Bulk Liquid – 3.6m tonnes, down 4.7%

Bulk Solid – 1.6m tonnes, up 10.8%

Unitised trade now accounts for 81% of Dublin Port's business. During 2011, Ro-Ro freight volumes were virtually unchanged at 725,000 units. In contrast, Lo-Lo volumes fell by 5.1% to 526,000 TEU.

Ferry passenger numbers fell by 5.6% to 1.7m. This follows a record year in 2010 when numbers were boosted by the impact of weather and ash clouds. Compared to 2009, passenger numbers were up 11.1%.

With 1.7m ferry passengers moving through the port, Dublin Port is behind only Dublin Airport and Cork Airport as a national tourism gateway.

The cruise liner side of Dublin Port's business saw a 7.5% increase in cruise passengers. During 2011, 87 cruise ships brought over 135,000 passengers and crew to Dublin.

Commenting on the trade figures, Eamonn O'Reilly, Dublin Port Company's Chief Executive said:

"Trade levels at Dublin Port were steady in 2011 which is a robust performance given the large (6.1%) increase in the port's volumes in the previous year.

"Whereas export volumes have continued to grow and are now 0.5m tonnes higher than they were in 2007, the poor performance of the domestic economy has resulted in a continued decline in imports. These are now 3.4m tonnes lower than they were in 2007.

"Notwithstanding the poor performance of the economy we are continuing to plan for the future and will shortly be launching our Masterplan 2012 to 2040. Dublin remains the largest and most important port on the island and our Masterplan is intended to ensure we continue to provide vital port capacity particularly as the economy returns to growth in coming years.

"With all the difficulties in the economy we are still only 9% behind where we were at the peak in 2007 and we believe that any pick-up in domestic demand will quickly translate into growth in import volumes. The Masterplan will ensure we stay ahead of future growth in demand for decades to come".

#PORTS & SHIPPING- Vega Stockholm, a vessel which featured in the BBC The 'Box' that tracked the movements of a single container around the world in 2008, coinciding with the start of the credit crunch crisis and telling the story of globalisation and the world economy, departed Dublin Port this evening, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The Box travelled the world ( totalling 50,000 miles) first departed from the  BBC TV Centre headquarters, London and headed northwards by road to Scotland. From there the Box was loaded on board the Vega Stockholm in Greenock and she departed on 12th September (see PHOTO) and made an en route call to Belfast before arriving the next day in Dublin Port. Only 16 days later the fateful decision by the Irish Government  to bail-out the Irish banks was made with a state guarantee.

The domestic economic crisis was also set against some of the most dramatic developments in the global economy including the first global recession in 60 years, notably with the fall of global finances giant Lehman Brothers.

The container box or forty equivalent units or (FEU) in industry parlance was painted in distinctive red and emblazoned with the words BBC News and the website www.bbc.co.uk/thebox so it could be tracked online across continents and oceans in addition to coverage by T.V. and radio. To trace the route taken by Box over 421 days to and from the UK, click HERE. In addition for further photographs taken by viewers following the Box departing the Clyde on board the container vessel click HERE.

On the first leg of a worldwide journey, Vega Stockholm (2006/8,306grt) departed the Scottish port with the Box laden with 15,000 bottles of Scotch whiskey bound for Shanghai, though this particular 'feeder' vessel would of carried the box to another port prior to onward shipment to the Far East by  a much larger containership.

The Box carried other cargoes on different legs as part of its worldwide journey to include 4000 shoes and over 95,000 tins of cat food for our fluffy friends. Of the entire journey, over 47,000 miles was spent crossing the oceans.

The box itself suffered some battering along the way including that of an economic front as the container sat still for three months in the docks of the Japanese port of Yukohoma.

At the time a  record 10% of the fleet were idle, and revenues per container were  likely to have dropped from already extremely depressed levels. The journey of the Box made for an interesting time to be following a container around the world.

To put some figures into context during the exercise the global container business made a collective profit of £3bn in 2008, but is estimated to have lost a cool £20bn in 2009.

After the Box arrived back to Southampton with vehicle parts, the container finally returned to London. Perhaps the most ironic tale of the exercise was the actual fate of the 'Box' itself, as it was reported the container ended up in South Africa to be converted for use as soup kitchen, another story for the Beeb!

#DALKEY ISLAND PROSPECT – The Green Party has called on the Minister for the Environment ,Phil Hogan, to hold a public enquiry in to the application to grant a license to Providence Resources' PLC to carry out a site survey and drill an exploration well in the Dalkey Island prospect on the Kish Bank basin.

Speaking yesterday Green Party spokesperson on Planning, Tom Kivlehan, said: "There are huge concerns among the people of Dublin about the proposed application and they feel that the process does not afford them the opportunity to have their questions and worries answered.

A public enquiry could address their fears. We have seen the consequences of poor public consultation in respect of the Corrib Gas Field and we should learn the lessons from it".

Dublin Bay is an environmentally sensitive area and a tremendous amenity for the population of Dublin, Famous for its Dublin bay prawns, it has a special area of conservation, bird sanctuaries, seal and dolphin populations, fishing grounds, beaches and sailing facilities.

He added: "It also is home to Ireland's largest port and is a busy shipping hub. Any new proposed development that can cause a potential risk to the life of Dublin Bay must be open public scrutiny and be fully transparent".

Under the Foreshore Act 1933 (Section 3, paragraph 9) the Minister has the power to call a public inquiry and "we now ask him on behalf of the people of Dublin to do so as quickly as possible".

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, a public meeting is to be held  by Dalkey Community Council next week  to discuss the proposed exploratory operation by Providence Resources.

#FERRIES - Ulysses arrived fresh from refit on the Dublin-Holyhead route yesterday after annual dry-docking at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported on Alfoat.ie the Irish Ferries 'flagship' sailings on the central corridor route (also served by Jonathan Swift) where relieved by Isle of Inishmore earlier this month. 

Isle of Inishmore departed Dublin Port last  evening and headed to Liverpool Bay, where she anchored overnight. She docked at Cammell Laird this afternoon, where she too is to undergo annual overhaul.

With Isle of Inishmore off service on her usual Rosslare-Pembroke Dock route, the company's French routes vessel, Oscar Wilde is maintaining sailings.

On 19th February, the Oscar Wilde resumes service on Rosslare-Cherbourg route and she will also re-open the seasonal-only operated route to Roscoff which starts in May.