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Dublin Port News
Dublin Port A Snapshot: Sailing, Cruising and Railing Along the Liffey
#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…
Lord Mayor Throws Spear into Dublin Bay, A Tradition Dating Back Over 500 Years
#dublinport – Lord Mayor of Dublin and Honorary Admiral of Dublin Port, Oisín Quinn, today performed the annual "Casting of the Spear" ceremony, a Dublin Port tradition dating back 526 years. The "Casting of the Spear" dates back to1488 when…
Dublin Port Sees Accelerating Growth in First Quarter 2014
#DublinPort – First quarter figures for Dublin Port Company in 2014 reveal accelerating cargo volumes as outlined below in addition to a breakdown of specific shipping sectors. Cargo volumes as follows: • Imports +8.5%• Exports +12.1%• Total volume +10.0% Having…
Discovery Launches Dublin Port Cruise Season in Year of Great Expectations
#DublinCruisecalls – Dublin Port welcomed its first cruiseship caller for the 2014 season, Discovery (1971/20,135grt) a 700-passenger vessel chartered to Cruise & Maritime Voyages and she is one of around  90 visitors so far scheduled to visit, writes Jehan Ashmore.…
Dublin Port Company to Hold Open Information Days on €200m Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project
#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…
Dublin Port Welcomes Participants for United Nations Port Training Programme
#DublinPort - Dublin Port Company has welcomed 30 participants from the following African states; Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria as well as the Philippines for the United Nations Port Training Programme. Trade for Trade will host a training of trainers' workshop for…
Cruise Liner Berth Boost as €200m Alexandra Basin Project Launched By Dublin Port Company
#dublinport – Dublin Port Company has lodged a planning application with An Bord Pleanála for its Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project. The application is being made under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act and follows a twelve month consultation with…
Dublin Port Significant Growth in 2013
#DublinPort - Significant growth in all categories of Dublin Port business was recorded during 2013. Up until last year, the port had experienced three flat years from 2010 and this is the first year in which there has been organic…
Pontoons Could Be A Permanent Fixture On The Liffey In Docklands Shakeup Plans
#Docklands - Local business interests and marine authorities are mooting ambitious new plan to construct a dozen pontoons along the River Liffey in Dublin's Docklands in 2014. The Sunday Times last weekend reported that the €4 million scheme, put forward…
Dublin Port Throughput Figures for Quarter Three 2013
#DublinPortQ3 – Dublin Port Company have published statistics detailing the volumes handled through the port for the third quarter of 2013. Today's publication is the start of a regular series of statistics which Dublin Port Company will publish every three…
Dublin Port HQ is an 'Open House' in the Capital
#DublinPortCENTRE – Open House Dublin (4-6 October) is to feature the Port Centre, the headquarters of Dublin Port Company which is among 100 buildings celebrating opening its doors to the public next weekend. The Port Centre designed by Architects Niall…
Dublin Port Company to Pay Additional €8m Dividend to State
#DublinPORT - Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar has announced Dublin Port Company will pay an additional dividend of €8m to the State during 2013, bringing the company's total dividend to €15m. The decision to pay the second special dividend was…
O'Brien Backing Dublin Shipping Services Hub Scheme
#DublinPort - Billionaire businessman Denis O'Brien is behind an ambitious plan to make Dublin Port an international shipping services hub for the maritime industry, as The Irish Times reports. The scheme has been presented to Dublin City Council as part…
Dublin Port Company Publish Annual Report & Accounts 2012
#DublinPort – The Dublin Port Company have published their Annual Report & Accounts for 2012 following a presentation of the accounts by Minister for Transport Mr. Leo Varadker to the Government at cabinet level last week.  As previously reported on…
Riverfest 2013 at Dublin Port Programme Saturday & Sunday June 1 & 2
The full programme of activity includes: Saturday 1st JuneTall Ships from 11am to 6pmTug Boat Displays 2pmMarkets 11am to 6pmChildren's Funfair from 11am to 6pmMV Cill Airne Open Day from 11am to 6pmDJ and Competitions from 11am to 6pmRowing &…
Lord Mayor Launches Dublin Port's New 'Riverfest' Celebration
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Naoise Ó Muirí, today officially launched Dublin Port's first "Riverfest" – Ireland's new premier riverside and sailing festival. Taking place this June bank holiday weekend (Saturday 1st June to Monday 3rd June) along Dublin's historic…

About Dublin Port 

Dublin Port is Ireland’s largest and busiest port with approximately 17,000 vessel movements per year. As well as being the country’s largest port, Dublin Port has the highest rate of growth and, in the seven years to 2019, total cargo volumes grew by 36.1%.

The vision of Dublin Port Company is to have the required capacity to service the needs of its customers and the wider economy safely, efficiently and sustainably. Dublin Port will integrate with the City by enhancing the natural and built environments. The Port is being developed in line with Masterplan 2040.

Dublin Port Company is currently investing about €277 million on its Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR), which is due to be complete by 2021. The redevelopment will improve the port's capacity for large ships by deepening and lengthening 3km of its 7km of berths. The ABR is part of a €1bn capital programme up to 2028, which will also include initial work on the Dublin Port’s MP2 Project - a major capital development project proposal for works within the existing port lands in the northeastern part of the port.

Dublin Port has also recently secured planning approval for the development of the next phase of its inland port near Dublin Airport. The latest stage of the inland port will include a site with the capacity to store more than 2,000 shipping containers and infrastructures such as an ESB substation, an office building and gantry crane.

Dublin Port Company recently submitted a planning application for a €320 million project that aims to provide significant additional capacity at the facility within the port in order to cope with increases in trade up to 2040. The scheme will see a new roll-on/roll-off jetty built to handle ferries of up to 240 metres in length, as well as the redevelopment of an oil berth into a deep-water container berth.

Dublin Port FAQ

Dublin was little more than a monastic settlement until the Norse invasion in the 8th and 9th centuries when they selected the Liffey Estuary as their point of entry to the country as it provided relatively easy access to the central plains of Ireland. Trading with England and Europe followed which required port facilities, so the development of Dublin Port is inextricably linked to the development of Dublin City, so it is fair to say the origins of the Port go back over one thousand years. As a result, the modern organisation Dublin Port has a long and remarkable history, dating back over 300 years from 1707.

The original Port of Dublin was situated upriver, a few miles from its current location near the modern Civic Offices at Wood Quay and close to Christchurch Cathedral. The Port remained close to that area until the new Custom House opened in the 1790s. In medieval times Dublin shipped cattle hides to Britain and the continent, and the returning ships carried wine, pottery and other goods.

510 acres. The modern Dublin Port is located either side of the River Liffey, out to its mouth. On the north side of the river, the central part (205 hectares or 510 acres) of the Port lies at the end of East Wall and North Wall, from Alexandra Quay.

Dublin Port Company is a State-owned commercial company responsible for operating and developing Dublin Port.

Dublin Port Company is a self-financing, and profitable private limited company wholly-owned by the State, whose business is to manage Dublin Port, Ireland's premier Port. Established as a corporate entity in 1997, Dublin Port Company is responsible for the management, control, operation and development of the Port.

Captain William Bligh (of Mutiny of the Bounty fame) was a visitor to Dublin in 1800, and his visit to the capital had a lasting effect on the Port. Bligh's study of the currents in Dublin Bay provided the basis for the construction of the North Wall. This undertaking led to the growth of Bull Island to its present size.

Yes. Dublin Port is the largest freight and passenger port in Ireland. It handles almost 50% of all trade in the Republic of Ireland.

All cargo handling activities being carried out by private sector companies operating in intensely competitive markets within the Port. Dublin Port Company provides world-class facilities, services, accommodation and lands in the harbour for ships, goods and passengers.

Eamonn O'Reilly is the Dublin Port Chief Executive.

Capt. Michael McKenna is the Dublin Port Harbour Master

In 2019, 1,949,229 people came through the Port.

In 2019, there were 158 cruise liner visits.

In 2019, 9.4 million gross tonnes of exports were handled by Dublin Port.

In 2019, there were 7,898 ship arrivals.

In 2019, there was a gross tonnage of 38.1 million.

In 2019, there were 559,506 tourist vehicles.

There were 98,897 lorries in 2019

Boats can navigate the River Liffey into Dublin by using the navigational guidelines. Find the guidelines on this page here.

VHF channel 12. Commercial vessels using Dublin Port or Dun Laoghaire Port typically have a qualified pilot or certified master with proven local knowledge on board. They "listen out" on VHF channel 12 when in Dublin Port's jurisdiction.

A Dublin Bay webcam showing the south of the Bay at Dun Laoghaire and a distant view of Dublin Port Shipping is here
Dublin Port is creating a distributed museum on its lands in Dublin City.
 A Liffey Tolka Project cycle and pedestrian way is the key to link the elements of this distributed museum together.  The distributed museum starts at the Diving Bell and, over the course of 6.3km, will give Dubliners a real sense of the City, the Port and the Bay.  For visitors, it will be a unique eye-opening stroll and vista through and alongside one of Europe’s busiest ports:  Diving Bell along Sir John Rogerson’s Quay over the Samuel Beckett Bridge, past the Scherzer Bridge and down the North Wall Quay campshire to Berth 18 - 1.2 km.   Liffey Tolka Project - Tree-lined pedestrian and cycle route between the River Liffey and the Tolka Estuary - 1.4 km with a 300-metre spur along Alexandra Road to The Pumphouse (to be completed by Q1 2021) and another 200 metres to The Flour Mill.   Tolka Estuary Greenway - Construction of Phase 1 (1.9 km) starts in December 2020 and will be completed by Spring 2022.  Phase 2 (1.3 km) will be delivered within the following five years.  The Pumphouse is a heritage zone being created as part of the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project.  The first phase of 1.6 acres will be completed in early 2021 and will include historical port equipment and buildings and a large open space for exhibitions and performances.  It will be expanded in a subsequent phase to incorporate the Victorian Graving Dock No. 1 which will be excavated and revealed. 
 The largest component of the distributed museum will be The Flour Mill.  This involves the redevelopment of the former Odlums Flour Mill on Alexandra Road based on a masterplan completed by Grafton Architects to provide a mix of port operational uses, a National Maritime Archive, two 300 seat performance venues, working and studio spaces for artists and exhibition spaces.   The Flour Mill will be developed in stages over the remaining twenty years of Masterplan 2040 alongside major port infrastructure projects.

Source: Dublin Port Company ©Afloat 2020.