#dublinport - Beginning a month from today is Open House Dublin 2017, the annual event this year takes place on the weekend of (13-15 October).

As part of the weekend of venues and events organised by the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) is a boat tour of Dublin Port on the Saturday, 14 October.

The boat tour on board St. Bridget will focus on the unique opportunity to view the recent and ongoing works of the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project (ABR) as part of Dublin Port Masterplan 2012–2040.

The majority of Open House Dublin buildings are open access, but limited places in the case of this boat tour must be pre-booked in advance. To register a place, click the Eventbrite website here. Note of the three tours, at time of writing only two remained with spaces available. 

Embarkation to board St. Bridget is located at the Ferry Quay Berth 18 (beside Thomas Clarke Bridge) otherwise widely known as the East-Link toll bridge. Please wear appropriate footwear and dress for the weather.

Open House Dublin is presented by the IAF which is a non-profit arts organisation that communicates the value of architecture.

The annual event is one part of the IAF's activities as they also have a year-round programme. This includes exhibitions, talks, film  screenings, symposia, competitions, publications, school and community workshops.

#DryDockJobs - The Irish Times reports that a dry dock employing some 26 workers face losing their jobs as a result of a €200m plan by Dublin Port Company to redevelop Alexandra Basin to accommodate bigger cruise ships, a planning hearing has heard.

Half a dozen shipping workers (yesterday) protested outside the hearing by An Bord Pleanála in Dublin city centre. The services they provide include ship repair, maintenance, and marine mechanical and electrical engineering.

Joe Nelson, company secretary of Dublin Graving Docks Ltd reported said the company was not against cruise ships but was against the configuration and the scale of the proposal.

The reason given for the closure of the dry dock area where the company was based was the financial yield per acre of land to Dublin Port, he said. For more on this story, click HERE.

Afloat.ie adds that Jeanie Johnston which is to undergo essential maintenance, has since moved again within Alexandra Basin from the lead-in jetty as previously reported to enter the graving dock operated by Dublin Graving Docks.

#DublinSnapShot - Making a fleeting visit to Dublin Port yesterday was Morgenster, at almost a century old the Dutch built twin masted sailing vessel berthed close to the East-Link Bridge, while today cruiseship Island Sky, transited the bridge to berth before the Samuel Beckett bridge, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Morgenster's North Wall Quay berth was opposite the O2 Arena (formerly The Point) and lest it not be forgotten the site of a large railway depot. In the surrounding compounds behind the entertainment venue remains laid-up Irish Rail InterCity rolling stock. These older generation rolling stock if you recall were liveried in striking orange, however days of further service are long gone as they are been dismantled.

The role of railways however are not completely redundant in Dublin Port, no were not talking of the lightrail LUAS link 'straight to the Point', but the established 'working' train traffic that been to Alexandra Basin (East). Here trains from Bolidan Tara Mines Co. Meath, are laden with deposits from Europe's largest zinc mines and containers by rail arrive and depart from Ballina, Co. Mayo.

As both rail-freight services terminate in the basin, the mined deposits are loaded onto bulkers, notably those frequent callers of the Arklow Shipping fleet, where today there were up to a trio of the distinctly green coloured hulled ships docked in port.

Firstly, Arklow Falcon which departed this afternoon having berthed along the bulk north quay and adjacent to where railway transported containers are hoisted on and off container vessels with destinations among them the Eastern Mediterranean and the African continent.

As for the remaining 'Arklow' pair, Arklow Manor is undergoing work in Dublin Dry Docks single dry-dock facility, next to the disused and in-filled older dry-dock. The historic dry-dock is to be excavated for heritage and tourism purposes as part of the €200m Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project in which Afloat.ie will have more 'revealing' details to uncover.

In addition Dublin Port are to find a new purpose for the former lightship 'Kittiwake' that local property developer Harry Crosbie had intended to use as a feature of the O2 Theatre Arena. Planning permission was refused by Dublin City Council.

The Kittiwake which is understood awaiting a survey, was subsequently purchased by the Dublin Port Company, who will decide her fate. What is certain her future role remains in the port and is intended to serve in an amenity role thus benefitting the public.

While the final member of the Arklow trio, the Arklow Brook is berthed outside the basin, alongside the Deepwater Berth, also known as the 'Coal' berth which is on the south bank of the channel.

It was at this quayside last Friday, that Irish Ferries, Epsilon, shifted opposite berths from the busy ferryport terminal having experienced 'technical' problems, which led to cancellation of all her sailings to Holyhead and last weekend's Dublin-Cherbourg round trip.

Epsilon's technical difficulties have been resolved as this afternnon she sailed to Holyhead.

She is seen pictured on our Cruise Liners coverage of Celebrity Infinity's arrival in the wake of Mein Schiff 1, which berthed earlier in Alexandra Basin. Celebrity Infinity was attended by tugs and Epsilon berthed in the backround while work to repair her gets underway.

As part of the ABR project there are plans for a dedicated cruise terminal which would cater for even larger cruiseships as those mentioned above.

The custom built terminal would be closer to the city-centre at a site near where our port snapshot had begun at the East-Link Bridge. Let the bridge lift be open again!... and to who knows what?

#ABRProject – As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Dublin Port Company has lodged a planning application to An Bord Pleanála for a €200m Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project.

Starting this evening there will be the first of three Open Public Information Days held by Dublin Port to outline plans which are to form the first large-scale project under Dublin Port Company's Masterplan 2012-2040 (See Video). Some 42% of Dublin Port's berths (3km of the port's 7km) will be lengthened and deepened and the 10km channel from Dublin Bay to the East Link Bridge will be deepened.

There are many more elements of the project which can be consulted in the Dublin Port Company HQ on Alexandra Road (Monday-Fridays: 9am-5pm) and during the three Open Information Days, for details of location, venue and times scroll to end of this page link HERE.
In addition to the ABR's dedicated website: www.dublinportabr.ie