A public consultation is to take place at the Port of Waterford in regards to developing an Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) capable berth located downriver of the city at Belview Port terminal.

As part of the Port of Waterford Ports’ 2020 – 2044 Masterplan, the Port is proposing to develop the (ORE) berth on a 250m downstream extension to the existing quay at Belview Port.

The terminal on the Co. Kilkenny side of the Suir is located 8kms to the east of Waterford City.

The project is at a preliminary design stage and as part of this work, the Port invites all interested stakeholders to take part in a public consultation on Monday 20th February (1600-2000).

The venue will be at the port’s Marine Point (3rd Floor) Office, Belview Port, Waterford, (Postcode: X91 W0XW).

The Port of Waterford has supported the Winterval festival since its inception and this year for the festival’s 10th celebratory year the Port of Waterford is delighted to be announced as the title sponsor for the Port of Waterford Eye.

The attraction is much anticipated at the festival, offering not only a beautiful landmark on the city’s historic quayside but also incredible Birdseye vistas over the twinkling lights of Ireland’s Christmas Festival and the River Suir and city streetscape.

The organisers of the Winterval festival are delighted to welcome the Port aboard as a title sponsor at the festival; Director John Grubb says, “Winterval 2022 is brought to festivalgoers by the people of Waterford with a great deal of support from the Waterford business community. Without that invaluable support, we would not be able to deliver Ireland's best Christmas festival, and we are delighted to have the Port of Waterford support the festival again this year and to even increase their contribution to the festival for this very special 10th anniversary year.”

Brian Moore at Port of Waterford says, “It has always been very important to the Port of Waterford to support the city, its people and our Port community. We are delighted to be involved with Winterval and the iconic attraction that is the Port of Waterford Eye with its positioning overlooking the majestic quayside is very fitting for us at the Port. We wish the festival team every success and we hope that all of the people of Waterford and beyond get to enjoy a Port of Waterford Eye experience for themselves.”

The Winterval Festival opens in Waterford City at 5 pm on Friday, November 18th with fun and festivities on offer for all the family until December 23rd. 

David Sinnott who was appointed as CEO at Port of Waterford in August, has commenced his role at the closest Irish Bulk Port to mainland Europe.

As Afloat reported this summer, the port, headquartered at Belview Port on the River Suir, is in a strong financial position after reporting operating profits in July for the financial year of €1.1 million, up from the €0.7 million recorded in 2020. Turnover was €7.7m (2020: €7.2m) and shareholder’s funds ended the year at €34m.

Bulk throughput in 2021 came in at 1.7 million tonnes, an 11% increase on 2020, while containers handled remained broadly in line with 2020.

As reported previously, the new CEO is originally from Wexford and had been working in Germany for the last ten years for Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH, where he held the role of Vice President of Product Management. He has now returned to the Southeast to take up the role of CEO at the Port of Waterford Company.

Prior to Sinnott’s time at Carl Zeiss Vision he served in several positions for the company in supply chain management. Starting out in materials management at their former manufacturing facility in Wexford, he then spent time as Director of European Supply Chain, before taking a role as Director of Business Integration. Sinnott is from Wexford town and was president of the Wexford Chamber of Commerce in 2002 and 2003.

The Cyprian container vessel CT Rotterdam encountered engine problems whilst off the southeast coast of Wexford yesterday afternoon (October 19th). The vessel is currently being towed by Atlantic Towage's Ocean Challenger to the Port of Waterford’s Belview Port Container Terminal facility.

The vessel had been en route to the Port of Rotterdam, having sailed from Dublin Port laden with a cargo of containers.

This afternoon (October 20th) a Port of Waterford Pilot Boat crew will transfer senior pilot, Michael Griffin, onboard the CT Rotterdam to guide the vessel up river.

A local tug, the Tramontane, operated by South East Tug Services, will assist in the operation.

When asked about the operation, Harbour Master Captain Darren Doyle said, “This incident underlines the importance of the Port of Waterford’s facilities from a national strategic perspective. We were happy to be able to offer assistance to the vessel, thus preventing a potentially higher-risk incident whilst also minimising disruption to the shipping supply chain”.

David Sinnott, originally from Wexford, who has been working in Germany at Carl Zeiss Vision International as Vice President of Product Management, has been appointed the new CEO of the Port of Waterford Company.

He will take up the post at the end of September.

Prior to his time in Product Management at Carl Zeiss Vision, he served in several positions for the company in supply chain management.

Starting out in materials management at their former manufacturing facility in Wexford, Sinnott then spent time as Director of European Supply Chain, before taking a role as Director of Business Integration.

Sinnott was president of Wexford Chamber of Commerce in 2002 and 2004.

A number of vacancies are currently open for roles with shipping companies based on the South Coast.

In the Port of Waterford, shipping services firm Maritime Expert Ireland is recruiting for cargo surveyors in liquid and dry bulk cargos.

Candidates will work on a rotational basis and the position requires extensive travel. During the ‘on’ period, they will be based in a company apartment in Holland, Belgium or Germany.

The role requires a marine or port background, and cargo surveyor experience is beneficial. The nature of the job requires a certain standard of physical condition.

A full European driver’s licence is a must, as is a TIC (formally IFIA) certificate (or the willingness to obtain one).

Successful candidates will have the ability to work well on their own but still be a team player. They will have a proactive, can-do mentality, as well as an excellent customer-focused attitude and good communication skills.

They must also not be afraid of heights, water and confined spaces, the company emphasises.

Applicants should sent their CV and cover letter to [email protected]

Meanwhile, Hamilton Shipping is recruiting for a port agency assistant based in its busy Port of Cork office.

The role will require boarding vessels such as dry bulk, oil tankers, cruise vessels and naval ships.

Applicants must be of a good standard of education, and ship agency or allied shipping experience is preferred. A full clean driving licence is a prerequisite.

Out-of-office-hours work and weekend work on a rota basis will be involved. From time to time the port agency assistant may be required to work at other company sites.

Interested parties should send their CV to [email protected]

Boatbuilder Frank Kowalski of Safehaven Marine Ltd in Youghal, Co Cork, could certainly give the makers of Deadliest Catch a run for their money with his cool videos set to stirring musical scores.

One of his latest is of sea trials on board the Port Láirge, the Port of Waterford’s new pilot boat, in 55-knot winds with swells reaching five metres.

While testing the vessel’s capabilities, Kowalski recounts how “we captured some great aerial drone footage of her punching through the breakers and some fabulous imagery of her offshore in very strong winds, although a drone did bite the dust and went for a swim in the getting of it!”

The Interceptor 48 was delivered to Waterford’s harbourmaster Capt Darren Doyle in mid-November, and he spoke to Wavelengths about the new vessel and how it was commissioned.

The Port Láirge is powered by a pair of Scania D13 500hp engines, has an operational speed of over 25 knots and can carry five pilots and two crew in comfort.

Capt Doyle also talked about other recent developments, including the re-introduction of rail freight between Ballina in Co Mayo and Belview - what transport minister Eamon Ryan describes as a “climate friendly option” which could take hundreds of trucks delivering goods between the west coast and south-east off the road.

And he spoke about the inevitable, but fairly limited, impact of Brexit...

Earlier today (Friday 19 November) the Port of Waterford received its new pilot vessel from Cork’s Safehaven Marine.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the port invested some €1 million in the 15m Interceptor 48 named Port Láirge, the Irish for Waterford and a name long associated with a steam-powered dredger that served the city for more than 70 years until the 1980s.

Powered by a pair of Scania DI 13 500hp engines through Twin Disc ‘Quickshift’ gearboxes, the vessel is self-righting, has an operational speed of 25 knots, can carry five pilots and two crew in comfort and ensures year-round capability in all weather conditions.

The Interceptor 48 pilot vessel Port Láirge at dockside in Waterford | Credit: Port of Waterford/Twitter

Safehaven says Port Láirge is the 48th pilot boat it has supplied to ports globally and the 23rd of its class, a statistic “demonstrating how well regarded the design has become in the specialised pilot boat market”.

The Port of Waterford is to invest almost €1 million in a new pilot boat from Safehaven Marine.

Due to come unto use in September 2021, the pilot boat will be named Port Láirge, the Irish for Waterford and a name long associated with a steam-powered dredger that served the city for more than 70 years until the 1980s.

The 15-metre-long boat will provide safer working conditions for pilotage personnel, the port says.

Safehaven Marine in Co Cork won a tendering process to design and build the new boat which will be fitted with the latest marine safety technology.

Recent launches for the Youghal-based performance boatbuilders include Interceptor 48 pilot boats for Montevideo in Uruguay and the Port of Coruna in Northern Spain.

Port of Waterford Harbourmaster Capt Darren Doyle said: “We look forward to the new Port Láirge being brought into service next year.

“Our pilot boat crew and pilots do vitally important work year-round and it is essential that they have the best possible vessel to operate from.”

In the south-east Port of Waterford there has seen increased traffic through the port's main container terminal at Belview this year.

In the 10 months to 31 October, WaterfordLive writes, that the port handled 19,576 containers, an increase of 11% on the same period in 2019.

At 1.1m tonnes, bulk volumes were in line with the previous year. The port’s overall revenues for the period amounted to €5.5m which was down by approximately 10% reflecting decreased parking revenues in Waterford city centre arising from the Covid-19 restrictions.

As part of its work with Irish exporters and importers, the port’s management team are currently gauging market demand in a potential new service that would directly connect the southeast of Ireland with northern France.

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