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Irish Ports Stories
Celtic's Caribbean Connection
The O'Flaherty Brothers of Wexford have a diverse range of shipping interests ranging from a fishing trawler fleet, a short-sea coaster and ferries under the Celtic Link Ferries banner, writes Jehan Ashmore. The shipping family can now also claim to…
Hundreds Gathered for Cork Harbour Open Day
Cork Harbour Open Day proved to be a great success with hundreds of people enjoying the harbour and the free family events on offer. Throughout the day, the LE Aoife at Horgan's Quay welcomed families and children on board where…
Cobh to Blackrock Race was Scorching Success
The 2010 Cobh to Blackrock Race on Saturday was an outstanding success and no bigger compliment could be paid than to say it was reminiscent of the event some twenty years ago as it had approximately 100 boats on the…
Government Begins Review of Irish Ports
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey T.D. today announced the launch of a national ports policy review with the publication of a consultation document.  There are ten State commercial port companies established and operating pursuant to the terms of the Harbours…
Minister For Defence Attends Naval Service Commissioning Ceremony In Cork
Minister for Defence, Mr. Tony Killeen, TD today attended the Naval Service Commissioning Ceremony of the 48th Naval Service Cadet Class at Haulbowline in Cork. The Minister was welcomed to the Naval Base by the Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations),…
Graceful Lady Liner to Visit Dublin
The elegant lines of the veteran cruiseship, Princess Daphne of 16,335grt, is due to dock in Dublin Port tomorrow morning (2 Sept) , writes Jehan Ashmore. The 55 year-old vessel was originally built as a general-refrigerated cargo ship or 'reefer'…
65–Knot RIB for Cork Harbour Open Day
'Dreamer' the Round Ireland rigid inflatable boat (RIB) in Ireland will be on show on Saturday 4th September 2010 as part of Cork Harbour Open Day. The RIB which was built locally by Gale Force Ventures in Carrigaline is owned…
Wicklow's Wildcat Wind-farmer's
The County Wicklow based firm, Island Shipping which ordered a pair of Wind-farm support service vessels starting with the Island Tiger, recently took up station on charter work at the world's largest offshore wind-farm construction project, writes Jehan Ashmore. The…
Wind Turbine Plan for Cork Harbour
Cork harbour may be at the forefront of cutting edge technology if a 30 million Euro plan to place seven 118m wind turbines along the entrance to Cork Harbour goes ahead. A public consultation process is underway. The turbines would…
Independence of the Seas Departs Cobh
MV Independence of the Seas, is the largest cruise liner to visit an Irish port this year and Bob Bateman's photos show exactly the scale of the huge liner departing Cobh this evening. 
Glasheen Boys School Cruise to Victory
During the summer Glasheen Boys National School were announced as the overall winners of the 2010 Port of Cork Schools Initiative. As overall winners, the 5th class boys were treated to a tour onboard MV Independence of the Seas, the…
Tricky Conditions for Shannon Estuary Cappa Race
On Saturday last with the weather favourable, members of Foynes Yacht Club raced in the annual Cappa fixture, which has been on the sailing calendar for a considerable time. Unfortunately, the Glin Castle race was cancelled beyond Foynes Yacht Club…
Seaplane Service Makes Cork Harbour Test Flight
A test flight for Ireland's first seaplane service took place in Cork Harbour on Friday afternoon. Harbour Flights Ireland has applied for planning permission to set up a landing base in Cobh to run its service having already acquired flight rights…
Dundalk hosts Merchant Seamen Exhibition
The County Museum in Dundalk is running an exhibition, until the end of September, entitled: 'Faces from the Past. Merchant Seamen from Dundalk in the early twentieth century'. The exhibition is based on photographic records identified by David Snook, research…
Drogheda Welcomes New Gas Operator
Drogheda welcomes Largest Gas Tanker The Co. Louth port recently welcomed the 4,750 tonnes MV Thresher, the largest ever gas tanker which was making a delivery of over 1,300 metric tonnes of gas to the Flogas terminal on the banks…
Port of Cork Opens its Doors for Heritage Day
On Saturday 28th August 2010, the Port of Cork will open its doors to the public from 11am until 4pm as part of Cork Heritage Day. The spectacular rooms of Custom House will be open to the public offering visitors…

As an island economy, a healthy maritime sector is key to our national competitiveness. Virtually all our imports and exports pass through Irish ports.

Ireland is dependent on ports and shipping services to transport goods and 90% of our trade is moved though Irish ports. Shipping and maritime transport services make a significant contribution to Ireland’s ocean economy, with the sector generating €2.3 billion in turnover and employing over 5,000 people in 2018.

Ireland’s maritime industry continues to grow and progress each year with Irish ports and shipping companies making significant investments. The ports sector in Ireland is currently undergoing a number of expansions and developments with Dublin Port’s Alexandra Basin development, the development of Ringaskiddy in Cork by Port of Cork and the development of Shannon Foynes Port. Along with these major investments, shipping companies are also investing heavily in new tonnage, with Irish Ferries, CLdN and Stena leading new build programmes.

These pages cover the following sectoral areas: shipowners, harbour authorities, shipbrokers, freight forwarders and contractors, cruise liner operators, port users, seamen, merchants, academic institutions, shipyards and repair facilities, naval architects, navy and defence personnel.

Our pages are covering some of the most notable arrivals around our coast and reporting too on port development and shipping news.

This section of the site deals with Port and Shipping News on our largest ports Dublin Port, Port of Cork, the Shannon Estuary, Galway Harbour and Belfast Lough.

A recent study carried out for the Irish Ports Association (IPA) totalled 75.7 billion during 2004 and their net economic impact was some 5.5 billion supporting around 57, 500 full time employees.

Liam Lacey, Director of the Marine Institute’s Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) said, “The Irish maritime industry can look to the future with confidence. It has shown itself to be resilient and agile in responding to challenges. Over the past decade, it has had to respond to the challenges of the financial crisis of 2008, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and recent challenges. Ireland’s maritime sector has continued to underpin our economy by maintaining vital shipping links for both trade and tourism.”