#dublinport - The brand new Celine, the world's largest short-sea ro-ro freight ferry departed Dublin Port last night having made use of a new ramp linkspan to facilitate such ships, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported in Afloat's coverage prior to the maiden call of Celine that took place late last month to Ocean Pier in Alexandra Basin (East), the 238m long ship on this most recent call instead docked in the neighbouring larger Alexandra Basin.

The new installed ramp in Alexandra Basin (though not in position during last month's Open House Dublin boat tour) has the capability to be positioned on both Alexandra Quay west or Ocean Pier which it should be noted separates the two basins. The added flexibility of the ramp on both quays is provided given other ships use the basin (including large cruiseships) and so the option of a second ramp access ensures ro-ro freight ferries such as Celine are secured a berth.

To see another photo of the view but taken from Ocean Pier on the Alexandra Basin side, click here from the pre-boat tour coverage. Note in the photo's foreground a deck handrail from CMV's cruiseship, Magellan and ahead of the ship in the background is where Ocean Pier meets Alexandra Quay west.

Traffic on the CLnd /Cobelfret Ferries Celine which operates the Rotterdam-Zeebrugge-Dublin, has provided a major boost in capacity as the 8,000 freight lane metres of deck space will benefit trade between Ireland and mainland Europe.

The investment of both new tonnage by Luxembourg based CLnd along with the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) project infrastructure is a measure of confidence in ro-ro traffic, where such trade is provided on direct shipping links to mainland continentel Europe against the backdrop of a post-Brexit UK. 

Figures released recently from Dublin Port reported that growth in ro-ro freight was particularly strong 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 also grew strongly at 6.2% while

Commenting on the trade figures, Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port said we expect to see more new services to Continental Europe during 2018.