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Displaying items by tag: Cork Mega Port

#PortOfCork - Have you ever wondered about the functions of the Port of Cork, the kind of people who work there, what they do and how many ships visit Cork every day and the types of cargo on board?

You can find out when you tune in to new 'fly on the wall' TV documentary series Cork Mega Port on TV3 starting Monday 28 April at 9pm.

Goldhawk Media produced the series of four hour-long episodes over four months spent living and breathing the Port of Cork.

The documentary crew followed all port employees including management, crane drivers, tug operators, pilots, launch crew and maintenance and engineering staff. Regardless of weather, they have been out on the sometimes high seas, filming the likes of Panamax-size vessels laden with cargo arriving into the port.

The series promises to give an exciting insight not just into the everyday operations of the port and the people behind it, but also highlights its importance to the region and necessity as a gateway for trade both in and out of Munster.

As well as having a serious side, the series will show the lighter side of the port by following some of the characters who have worked there for many years.

The Port of Cork prides itself on having a reliable, long-serving, experienced group of employees, and one thing that is evident within the series is the passion that exists in working at the Port of Cork.

Some staff describe working at the Port of Cork as having the "best job in the world" and from the varied services and operations that the port is involved in, it’s easy to see why.

Speaking about the new series, Port of Cork chief executive Brendan Keating said: “When we were approached by Goldhawk Media on behalf of TV3 back in 2013 and heard their experience and saw their enthusiasm, we jumped at the opportunity to get involved in this production.

"While the series shows everything the port is involved with from operations, to maintenance, the cruise business, community initiatives and our recent port redevelopment plans, it has been the level of enthusiasm from staff which has really shone through and we are very proud to share this with the people of Ireland.”

Cork Mega Port will air over four weeks on TV3 from Monday 28 April at 9pm.

Published in Port of Cork

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).