Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Irish Marinas

#IRISH MARINAS - Five months after hosting the Clipper Round the World yacht race this summer, the new marina at Derry-Londonderry has been officially opened to much fanfare.

The Belfast Telegraph reports on the weekend's celebrations, which welcomed the return of the city's entry in the world-renowned yacht race.

Derry-Londonderry's challenge will soon be featured in the Discovery Channel TV documentary series Against the Tide, according to the Derry Journal.

Speaking at the launch event, Foyle Port CEO Brian McGrath hailed its "state-of-the-art facilities for hosting maritime events".

The new marina is a joint initiative by the Loughs Agency and Cruise Initiative and is maintained by Foyle Port.

Published in Irish Marinas

#IRISH MARINAS - Two marinas were among the 11 resorts on the Northern Ireland coast awarded Blue Flag status this year.

It marks a record year for Northern Ireland's water quality standards as the EU's benchmarks grow increasingly strict, and represents a 100% increase over three years.

Ballyronan on Lough Neagh retains its Blue Flag status, while and Ballycastle Marina achieved the accolade for the first time, as the News Letter reports.

Other stretches retaining their status are Downhill, Benone, Portstewart, Tyrella, Whiterock and Portrush's East and West Strands.

Newcomers to the Blue Flag list are Cranfield West, Murlough and Crawfordsburn Country Park in Co Down, and Castlerock in Co Derry.

Meanwhile, seven beaches across Northern Ireland attained Seaside Awards for their high standards.

Environment Minister Alex Attwood said: “Today’s increase in Blue Flag and Seaside Awards is great news for Northern Ireland’s beach users and seaside towns as they know they can expect the best when they see a Blue Flag or a Seaside Award symbol."

The News Letter has more on the story HERE.

Published in Irish Marinas
Page 4 of 4

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.”