Volumes handled by the Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) and Lift-on/Lift-off (LoLo) cargo modes at Irish ports declined significantly in the first six months of 2023, according to a new report from the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO).

When compared to the first half of 2022, RoRo volumes fell by 3%, equivalent to 20,000 fewer RoRo units. LoLo traffic fell by 9%, or 55,000 TEU’s, over the same period.

The IMDO says the predominant driver of these declines has been inflation, which has risen considerably both at home and abroad over the last 18 months.

Beginning with a rapid rise in energy costs in early 2022, the cost of transporting goods, and the cost of goods themselves, has risen sharply. This has suppressed trade at Irish ports, with traffic on almost all routes declining to some degree.

In the RoRo market, volumes in Q1 and Q2 declined by 4% and 3% respectively. Volumes in both quarters were below the long -term trend for the sector, the benchmark for which is approximately 300,000 units per quarter. When seasonally adjusted, RoRo traffic declined on a quarterly basis in four of the last five quarters.

Rosslare-Europort was the only port to record an increase compared to 2022. This was driven by an announcement in late 2022 that a Cork-Zeebrugge service operated by Grimaldi would move to Rosslare Europort. Finnlines, a Finnish shipping company that is part of the Grimaldi Group, now operates the service from Rosslare.

The breakdown in RoRo traffic between ports in mainland Great Britain (ROI–GB) and ports in mainland Europe (ROI–EU) has now exhibited the same post-Brexit trends for ten consecutive quarters. ROI–EU, or direct, RoRo traffic continues to represent one in three RoRo units, compared to one in three prior to January 2021. As a result, there is no immediate sign of a return to the pre-Brexit makeup of the Irish RoRo freight market.

In the LoLo market, volumes in Q1 and Q2 declined by 7% and 11% respectively. The declines in LoLo traffic were also reflected at an international level. Global seaborne trade indicators for container traffic exhibited sharp declines, particularly in the early months of 2023, a trend that was mirrored at Irish ports.

Overall, the volumes recorded in the unitised freight market at Irish ports in the first half of 2023 were sluggish, below trend, and reflective of the suppressive effect inflation has had on international trade volumes.

However, there are several reasons to be optimistic about the near future for Irish maritime traffic, the IMDO adds.

Firstly, inflation has begun to ease across the EU. In Ireland, the inflation rate in July was 4.6%, its lowest level since September 2021. Secondly, according to latest Central Bank reports, domestic growth in Ireland remains robust and is higher than what was expected earlier in the year. Unemployment is extremely low, and this is creating resilience within the economy.

Abroad, EU growth is subdued, while US growth is improving. Both are also buoyed by high employment levels. Most importantly, global inflation rates are easing.

In all, there are positive signals that the declines recorded at Irish ports may be temporary, and that the worst period may have passed, the IMDO says, as it emphasises that “there is a resilience in the Irish maritime freight market”—demonstrated by the response to disruption from both Brexit and the pandemic—“that is essential to overcoming economic headwinds such as these”.

The Unitised Traffic Report Q1 & Q2 2023 is attached below.

Traffic through Irish ports have declined marginally in the third quarter of this year, according to the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO).

The lastest figures from the IMDO, a government office which provides support to national and international maritime businesses, recorded that Roll-on and roll-off (Ro-Ro) traffic declined by 1% compared to the same period in 2021.

On routes between Ireland and mainland Europe, traffic on these direct routes was down 2% while traffic to ports in the UK was unchanged.

The shift to direct routes to the EU, which emerged following the end of the Brexit transition period that ended on 31 December 2020 "is so far holding firm" said the IMDO.

RTE News reports more on the trade figures including ferry passenger numbers.

Irish Ferries has announced the addition of the RoRo passenger ferry Blue Star 1 to its Rosslare–Pembroke Dock route.

The ship is being chartered from the Attica Group and delivery is expected in early April.

Blue Star 1 was built in 2000 by the Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard in the Netherlands, the same shipyard that in 1997 built Irish Ferries’ Isle of Inishmore which is currently servicing the Rosslare–Pembroke Dock route.

Irish Ferries’ pending addition to the fleet has the capacity to carry up to 1,500 passengers, 100 freight vehicles and up to 700 cars depending on freight volume.

The ship offers a host of quality facilities including 192 cabins for freight drivers/passengers, self-service restaurant, café/bar, Club Class lounge, onboard duty-free shop, children’s play area and spacious outdoor decks.

Irish Ferries says the tripling of cabin numbers will facilitate more single occupancy cabins for freight drivers.

Irish Ferries managing director Andrew Sheen said: “We are very pleased to add a quality ship of the calibre of the versatile Blue Star 1 to the Irish Ferries fleet. This ship will be the fastest RoRo passenger ship operating between Britain and Ireland and this will help ensure schedule integrity.

“The introduction of this ship underlines our commitment to the Rosslare-to-Pembroke route, the primary shipping corridor between Ireland and South Wales.

“It also underlines our commitment to the significant contribution that this route makes in facilitating trade for both exporters and importers as well as facilitating essential passenger movements and future tourists as the country reopens post-COVID-19.”

The news comes just says after Irish Ferries launched a new service on the Dover–Calais route set to begin this June — a first for the market leader for freight and passengers between Britain and the Ireland.

Dublin Port Company has published its latest trade figures showing growth of 4.2% to the end of Q3 2017. Overall, volumes in Dublin Port have grown by 30.1% in just five years.

A continuation in the current pace of growth would mean a third successive record year for Dublin Port.

Summary of YTD September 2017 Trade Statistics

Total throughput (imports and exports) for the nine months to the end of September was 27.1 million gross tonnes, with 5,932 ship arrivals during the period.

Consecutive Growth over the past five years

This is the fifth year in a row for Dublin Port to see substantial growth in the first nine months.

New Ro-Ro Service

Growth was particularly strong in Ro-Ro freight with 736,462 units in the first nine months, an increase of 5.3% on the previous year. Within this total, Ro-Ro services between Ireland and Britain grew strongly at 6.2%. Elsewhere, Lo-Lo containers grew by 4.1% to 515,718 TEU.

As Afloat.ie previously reported, In a new development, Dublin Port Company has confirmed that it will welcome the maiden call of CLdN’s mv Celine at the end of October.  Her arrival will provide additional capacity and flexibility for customers trading with markets in Continental Europe, particularly post BREXIT.

Celine will operate between Dublin Port and the ports of Zeebrugge and Rotterdam.  With a capacity of 8,000 lane-metres, Celine can carry over 600 freight units and is approaching twice the size of the largest ferry currently operating from Dublin Port.

The volume of new imported trade vehicles through Dublin Port declined by -5.5% during the period, reflecting the large increase in recent times of second-hand vehicle imports from the UK.

Ferry & Cruise Tourism Growth

Tourism volumes on ferries grew strongly in the first nine months, with passenger numbers ahead by 2.4% to 1.5 million. Cruise tourism is also growing in Dublin with 127 cruise ships calling in the first nine months of what is already a record year for Dublin Port.

Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company, said: “Dublin Port’s volumes continue to grow strongly. It is clear that the trend of year on year increases that we saw in the decades before the crash of 2008 has returned.  We have now seen five years of consistent growth and each of the last three years has been a record year. 

“Notwithstanding the uncertainty generated by BREXIT, Dublin Port has seen Ro-Ro freight volumes on routes to Britain grow by 6.2% over the first three quarters of 2017 with ferry passenger numbers growing by 2.4%.  

“We are increasing the capacity of the port on the basis that growth will continue for many years to come.  Work is continuing on our first major Masterplan project, the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project. 

“We are seeing increasing demand for direct freight services to Continental Europe.  The introduction by CLdN of the 8,000 lane metre Celine will greatly increase the capacity on direct services to Continental Europe.  BREXIT is creating a lot of uncertainty and the introduction of the new ship shows the shipping sector beginning to provide additional capacity to create more options for importers and exporters.  We expect to see more new services to Continental Europe during 2018.

“Before year end, we will commence construction of a bridge over the Covanta and ESB cooling water outfall on the Poolbeg Peninsula now that the construction of the waste to energy plant is complete.  This bridge will bring unused port lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula into use and allow us to increase the capacity of our berths on South Bank Quay.  This is the first step towards the ultimate development of all Dublin Port lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula under our Masterplan 2012-2040. 

“We welcome the recognition in the recently approved Planning Scheme for the Poolbeg West SDZ that port lands are for port uses.  This follows on from the recognition in the draft National Planning Framework of the importance for the country of the continued addition of port capacity in Dublin.”

#Shipping - Shipping and port activity in the Republic of Ireland rose by 1% in the second quarter of 2017 when compared to the corresponding period of 2016, according to the latest iShip Index published by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO).

Unitised traffic — which consists of roll-on/roll-off (RORO) and lift-on/lift-off (LOLO) traffic — continued to rise, growing by 3% when compared to Q2 2016.

The majority of RORO traffic moves between Ireland and Great Britain, meaning this freight segment is a simple but reliable indicator as to the level of trade between both economies.

The RORO freight sector for the Republic of Ireland saw volume growth of 3% in the second quarter of 2017. This is the fifth consecutive Q2 increase in this freight category.

As for LOLO (containership) traffic, exports in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) rose by 7.4% compared to Q2 2016, while imports remained relatively unchanged — rising by 0.9%. Overall, LOLO traffic in ROI increased by 3.7% to 184,673 TEU.

When reviewing unitised traffic, it is worth noting that both LOLO and RORO freight segments move in an all-island setting. Therefore, when Northern Irish ports are included, all-island RORO volumes grew by 2% in Q2 2017.

All-island LOLO traffic grew by 3.5%, with all-island imports and exports rising by 1.1% and 6.6% respectively compared to Q2 2016.

NI RORO volumes grew by 2%, while NI LOLO traffic grew by 2.8%. This was driven primarily by 4% growth in NI LOLO exports.

The bulk traffic segment saw tonnage volumes decrease by 1% (excluding transhipments) in the Republic of Ireland when compared to the same period last year. This was driven primarily by a 3% fall in Dry Bulk tonnage.

Break bulk volumes grew by 3%, while liquid Bulk traffic remained stable compared to Q2 2016.

Summary of Shipping Volumes for Republic of Ireland:

#FERRY NEWS -Seatruck Ferries newbuild freight-only ferry, Seatruck Progress carried out berthing trials in Dublin Port yesterday in preparation to her debut on the Liverpool route over the festive period, writes Jehan Ashmore.

This was the inaugural call to the capital, though she had sailed across Dublin Bay earlier this month (as previously reported - click HERE) during her delivery voyage to Liverpool from German shipbuilders FGS Flensburger.

At 142 metres long and with a beam of 24 metres, the four decked ro-ro vessel, offers more capacity to the routes existing pair of 'Point' class vessels, as she can handle an extra 35 trailer units (each of 13.5m) than the Clipper Point and Clipper Pennant.

In February, the newcomer's second sister out of four on order, Seatruck Power is set to join her on the central corridor route.

Seatruck are the only Irish Sea operator dedicated to the carriage of un-accompanied freight traffic, though the vessels can cater for driver accompanied units with a limited number of cabins.

#FERRY NEWS - A cross-border project to develop ferry services for island and remote communities of the Irish and Scottish coastlines has received funding in the sixth round of the European Regional Development Fund (EDRF).

A grant of £450,000 (€540,000) has been allocated to procure the world's first ever hybrid RORO ferry for operation in Scotland, following the completion of the INTERREG funded Small Ferries Project.

The project - a cross-border partnership between Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited and administrations in Ireland and Northern Ireland - produced common designs and procurement strategies for a fleet of small ferries which could be used to serve remote coastal communities.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, five Scottish coastal routes (and three Irish routes) were examined as part of the Small Ferries Project report published in September last year.

Arising from this, Scotland will see the next step in the project by hosting the world’s first hybrid RORO ferry, designed for use on short crossing routes around the Clyde esturary and Hebrides.

The EDRF funding will also be used to develop the corresponding shore infrastructure to enable the ferry to recharge in port.

The first vessel is expected to enter service in Spring 2013.

#PORTS & SHIPPING- The volume of shipping and port traffic through the Republic of Ireland continued to decline during the third quarter of 2011, according to the latest analysis of traffic figures released by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO).

Results from third quarter data indicate that only 1 of the 5 principal freight segments had any growth over the third quarter, while all other segments declined compared to the same period last year as outlined below in the key third quarter data:-

• Lift-on/Lift-off (lo/lo) trades were down 5%

• Roll-on/Roll-off export traffic was down by 2%

• Dry bulk volumes increased by 2%

• Break bulk volumes were down by 3%

• The Tanker/Liquid bulk market was down 7%.

For a more in-depth analysis of each freight-transport mode issued by the IMDO and accompanied by graphic charts click HERE. In addition to compare the 3rd quarter figures with the previous 2nd quater for this year click HERE.

The principle driver in the ports performance came from the agri-food sector with a record 2m tonnes of grain and animal feed imports. The sector also recorded fertiliser imports alone leap by 32%, reflecting the major investment by the harbour in recent years in the dry-bulk cargo trade.

Roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) accounted for a 2% rise to 313,000 vehicles carried, partly due to the introduction of newer larger tonnage on the Belfast-Heysham route.

Belfast Harbour Chairman, Len O'Hagan, said: "Although trading conditions in the UK and Ireland remain weak, the increase in tonnages handled by Belfast Harbour suggests that business confidence is starting to return, albeit slowly.

"Belfast Harbour continues to operate in a highly competitive port sector, but I am pleased to note that the £160m which the Harbour invested in new facilities during the past decade has enabled it to emerge from the downturn with new customers and a presence in new sectors such as renewable energy.

Capital investment in the port worth almost £6m were undertaken during 2010, including the purchase of a new mobile crane, a 10,000 sq ft expansion in logistics space and preliminary works to support the proposed development of an offshore wind turbine terminal for DONG Energy (click HERE). The combined capital expenditure in these projects is in excess of £60m.

Within the ports real estate, projects at the Titanic Quarter progress at the Public Record Office, Belfast Metropolitan College and the core attraction of the 'Titanic Belfast' visitor centre.

Master planning for the 24-acre mixed-use City Quays site adjacent to the Harbour Office was secured. In addition planning permission was lodged for a 230,000 sq ft of space at Sydenham Business Park on the south-eastern fringes of the harbour.

Further upstream closer to the city-centre at the Abercorn Basin, initial work had been completed on a marina where there are more plans for the development of a 250-berth full-service leisure facility.

Next Monday the port's cruise business is to welcome a new cruiseship, the 66,000 tonnes Marina of Oceania Cruises. The 1,250-passenger /800 crew newbuild's arrival to Belfast comes in a year that marks the thirteenth anniversary since the first liner docked in the city. In 2011 over 30 such vessels are due to visit bringing some 50,000 passengers and crew.

Dublin Port Company has welcomed RMR Shipping's new increased frequency of its service to West Africa, from a monthly to fortnightly service starting next month, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The direct service which began in 2009 using a single vessel from the capital to Nigeria, Ghana with calls to Lagos and Takoradi, is set to gain a second ship as demand for the service rises.

Two 157-trailer capacity ro-ro sisters are to be deployed on the route, they are the 23,000 gross tonnes sisters Celandine and Celestine. The Belgium-flagged pair both built in 2000 will take 18-days to transit between Dublin and Ghana.

The next sailing to Dublin is due on 5 July when the Celandine (PHOTO) is to dock at berth 51a, which is one of three berths located in the ports multi-user ferryport Terminal 1, shared by Irish Ferries, Stena Line and seasonal services of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Commenting on the development, Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive Dublin Port Company said: "We are delighted with this development. Anything which increases the link between Ireland and emerging economies beyond Europe has got to be good for exports.

He added, "The service to Takoradi complements our involvement with Irish Aid from 2008 to 2010 in delivering an international training programme for ports in emerging countries including Ghana. The TrainForTrade programme was delivered with UNCTAD and we are hopeful of being able to announce a follow-up to the first programme in the coming months.

The development of RMR Shipping on the direct sea freight link was also welcomed by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) whose chief executive John Whelan commented that exports to Nigeria last year exceeded €200m, the second largest market for Irish goods into Africa.