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New Central Statistics Office figures show that the number of vessels arriving in Irish ports last year rose by 7% on 2020 levels.

The gross tonnage of all arriving vessels in 2021 also increased by 7%, the CSO said.

Irish ports handled nearly 54 million tonnes of goods in 2021, an increase of 5% compared with 2020.

The CSO said that goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to 17.4 million tonnes in 2021, while a total of 36.5 million tonnes of goods were received.

Today's CSO figures also show that over one million passengers passed through Irish ports last year, a jump of 25% compared with 2020.

More RTE News has to report on the port statistics. 

Published in Irish Ports

#fishing – Ireland now has in place a system to apply points to the license of fishing vessels involved in serious fishery offences. Irish legislation, bringing into effect Ireland's points system for serious infringements of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), as required by EU regulation, was signed into law by Simon Coveney, TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine on the 8th January 2014. The point's scheme is separate from other potential sanctions for serious infringements including, for example, a court prosecution.

Infringements which might be regarded as warranting points when they are sufficiently serious, would include:
failing to fulfil obligations to record and report catch or catch related data (including data to be transmitted by satellite vessel monitoring system);
use of prohibited or non-compliant gear;
falsification or concealing of markings, identity or registration of the vessel;
concealing, tampering or disposal of evidence relating to an investigation;
taking onboard, transhipping or landing of undersized fish;
carrying out of fishing activities in a prohibited conservation area;
fishing without a valid licence, authorisation or permit issued by the flag State or the relevant coastal State;
fishing in a closed area or during a closed season, without or after attainment of a quota or beyond a closed depth;
fishing for a stock which is subject to a moratorium or for which fishing is prohibited and,
obstruction of the work of officials in the exercise of their duties in inspecting for compliance with the applicable conservation and management measures.

The number of points to be attributed for specific infringements is set down in EU regulation. Every time a serious infringement is committed, the appropriate number of points will be assigned to the license holder of the vessel. Any license holder who accumulates more than 18 points will have the fishing license suspended for at least two months. For higher numbers of points the penalty increases to suspensions of four, eight and twelve months respectively. If, after the end of the fourth suspension period, further serious infringements occur, the fishing license will be permanently withdrawn. However, if the offender does not commit any serious infringements within three years of the previous such infringement, all points on the fishing license will be deleted and he/ she will start again with a clean slate. The regulation also provides for fishers to engage in activities which would result in deletion of points. Points stay with the vessel capacity and its associated license and are therefore transferred to the new owner if the vessel is sold on.

Susan Steele, Chair of the SFPA said: 'The SFPA welcomes the point system for serious infringements. The SFPA can initiate the issuing of points to vessels committing serious infringements in waters under Irish Jurisdiction and this will go a long way to ensure that fishing rules are applied in the same way in all member countries as well as harmonising the way infringements are sanctioned. We believe in proportionate dissuasive sanctioning of infringements detected and the SFPA are committed to implementing this system in an effective, fair and proportionate manner. These rules will give Ireland and other EU Member States new powerful tools not only to protect our fishing resources from unscrupulous operators, but also to protect the livelihoods of honest fishermen who would otherwise be exposed to unfair competition.

'The point system for serious infringements will work in tandem with the legal prosecution process through the courts. The cumulative effect should provide a very real deterrent for those who seek to gain unfair advantage over their fellow fishers by engaging in repeated serious infringements.'

Published in Fishing
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Tricentenary 'Cork 300' Celebrations at Royal Cork Yacht Club

Cork 300 is the overall name for a series of events which will be held in Cork Harbour and further afield in 2020 to celebrate the tricentenary of Royal Cork Yacht Club.

300 years earlier, 25 individuals came together and created what is now the oldest yacht club in the world (where it all began). Today, there are thousands of yacht clubs across the globe with a collective membership running into the millions.

Cork, its harbour and its communities will proudly celebrate all that is on offer to visitors to Irelands Maritime Paradise with a series of events throughout the year. Register your interest here.

The lead events will be as follows:

July – The Great Gathering (Keelboats)
August – The Three Championship Weeks (Dinghies)
August – The Club At Home Regatta (Keelboats & Dinghies)

Events include…

AIB 1720 Southern Championships 28th-30th August
Sadly, the 1720 Europeans scheduled to take place as part of Volvo Cork Week fell victim to the covid 19 pandemic. The Royal Cork Yacht Club is instead hosting the AIB 1720 Southern Championships 2020 as part of their Tricentenary At Home Regatta weekend. The 1720 class originated from an idea generated by some committed racing members of the Royal Cork Yacht Club with the first prototype taking to the water in 1994. Designed by Tony Castro, they have been delighting many a competitive sailor since.

Tricentenary at Home Regatta, 28th - 30th August:
The AIB Tricentenary at Home Regatta will be the biggest sailing event of the year in the Royal Cork calendar. Racing will be available for all classes both dinghy and keelboat with many visitors expected from up and down the Irish South Coast. The National 18 Southern Championships will also feature as part of the racing over the weekend.

Maritime Parade 29th August
A maritime parade, originally scheduled for July, will now take place during the Tricentenary Regatta on the 29th August, with the support of the Irish Naval Services and Port of Cork. The Admiral of the Royal Cork and other dignitaries will review the parade from one of the Irish Naval Service vessels which will be anchored in the vicinity of Haulbowline.

1720s Race from Haulbowline to Crosshaven, 29th August
Following the Maritime Parade, a race will take place between all of the 1720s boats from the Naval Signal Tower back to the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven. The National 18 Class will also be participating.

RCYC Exhibition at the Sirius, 29th August to 19th December
A RCYC Exhibition will be launched at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh on August 29th following the day's events. The Sirius was the Royal Cork Club House from 1854 to 1966, and the Exhibition will take a look at what life was like at the yacht club during its time there.

Fastnet Challenge, 29th August
The Fastnet Powerboat Challenge originally scheduled for the last week of July has now been moved to the last weekend of August (Weather permitting). This will see the UIM Long Distance Cork-Fastnet-Cork World Record attempt competed for.

Cork300 Family Race to the City, 12-13 September
In conjunction with Cove Sailing Club's annual Cobh to Blackrock race, Yachts and craft from across Cork Harbour will take part in a race to Blackrock Castle, following on from which, they will continue to the city Quays where they will remain overnight and provide a spectacle of sail within the City environs.

AIB National 18 Championships, 12-13 September
The AIB National 18 Championships for adult sailors in the UK and Ireland will take place from 12-13 September in Crosshaven this year as part of the Cork300 celebrations.

AIB Cork300 Autumn League, 27 September-25 October
The premier yacht racing event on the South Coast this year, the AIB Cork300 Autumn League, will be held over 5 weekends leading up to the October Bank Holiday weekend. This is expected to be the largest yacht racing event on the South Coast of Ireland this year.

AIB Irish Team Racing National Championships 2020, 21-22 November
Sailing teams from across the country will compete in Cork Harbour for the title of AIB Irish Team Racing National Champion 2020

All races will be governed by the COVID-19 guidelines as laid out by Irish Sailing and organising clubs.

At A Glance – Royal Cork Tricentenary

Founded in 1720, by a group of 25 pioneering individuals, the Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in the world, and its tricentenary celebrations will take a look back at the origins of ‘where it all began’, which is attracting significant international interest from thousands of yacht clubs across the globe

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