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CSO Figures Show Irish Ports Handled 11.9m Tonnes of Goods in Q1 this Year

26th July 2023
CSO figures: Dublin Port accounted for 63% of all vessel arrivals in Irish ports in the first quarter of 2023. Above the easternmost estate of the port where ferry terminals serve the UK and Europe.
CSO figures: Dublin Port accounted for 63% of all vessel arrivals in Irish ports in the first quarter of 2023. Above the easternmost estate of the port where ferry terminals serve the UK and Europe. Credit: DublinPortCompany/facebook

Irish Ports according to the Central Statistics Office figures released today show that they handled a total of 11.9 million tonnes of goods in the first quarter of the year.

As RTE News reports, this level of goods represented a decrease of 6% when compared with the same time last year.

The CSO’s Statistics of Port Traffic Quarter 1 2023 said that goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to nearly 4 million tonnes within the first three months of the year.

In this Q1 period, the CSO added that a total of 7.9 million tonnes of goods were received.

As for the total number of commercial vessels that called in Irish ports during the first quarter of 2023, of the seven main ports – Drogheda and Dublin, Rosslare (Leinster) and Bantry, Cork, Shannon and Waterford (Munster) had decreased by 5% compared with Q1 of 2022.

Also amongst the key figures revealed was that Dublin Port had accounted for 63% of all vessel arrivals in Irish ports. In addition the capital port is where 51% of the total tonnage of goods were handled in January, February and March of this year.

Across the border and the Irish Sea is where Great Britain & Northern Ireland had accounted for 37% of the total tonnage of goods handled in the main ports by region of trade.

On mainland continental Europe, countries within the EU had resulted for 42% of the total tonnage of goods handled in seven major ports, the CSO added.

Published in Irish Ports
Jehan Ashmore

About The Author

Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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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.”