Feature, Freight News, Sea
Dublin opens a terminal for the future
[ November 7, 2023 // Chris Lewis ]Minister of State, Jack Chambers, officially opened Dublin Port’s new T4 ro ro freight terminal on 7 November. Dublin Port company said that the €127m facility had been self-financed and delivered on time, and on budget, and marked a major milestone in the delivery of the ABR Project, the first of three major capital development projects under its Masterplan to futureproof the port’s capacity to 2040.
DPC said that T4 will handle more than 220,000 ro ro units annually, a fifth of all ferry traffic based on 2022 volumes and more ro ro freight per annum than any other port in the Republic of Ireland.
Capacity comes from reconfiguring 4.1ha of existing port lands at a time of growing demand for unaccompanied ro ro freight post-Brexit.
It has also enabled the opening of a new transhipment route to Santander.
T4 brings into operation 3km of new quay walls, upgrading 19th Century infrastructure to service direct routes between Dublin and Liverpool/Heysham by ferry operator Seatruc, now owned by CLdN.
The work also involved replacing an old jetty with two new ones of 270m each, that will accommodate the largest ferries up to 240m long. They have been future-proofed to allow for shore to ship power in the years ahead.
Jack Chambers (pictured, left) said; “Dublin Port is Ireland’s largest freight and passenger port handling approximately 51% of national tonnage. Its importance is even more pronounced in the unitised freight sector as it handles 71% of all lo lo and 80% of all ro ro-off tonnage in and out of the country.
“In line with its Masterplan, Dublin Port has been progressing the necessary infrastructure to provide for increases in throughput. T4 will greatly enhance Roll-on/Roll-off capabilities at the Port.
“As an island nation, sufficient capacity and the efficient and seamless operation of our ports are indispensable for the success of Ireland’s importers and exporters.”
DPC chief executive Barry O’Connell (pictured, right) added; “Dublin is already one of the most efficient ports in Europe. With T4, we are driving even more efficiencies and facilitating growing customer demand for direct shipping routes between Dublin, the UK and Europe.”
But he warned: “Even with T4 now fully in operation, Dublin is running at 91% average capacity and therefore it is imperative that our plans to complete all three of our Masterplan 2040 projects continue as planned.”
Long-time Irish Sea operator P&O Ferries earlier announced that it would cease operating its Liverpool-Dublin service by the end of 2023, citing lack of affordable terminal capacity at the Irish port, although it will charter out one of the vessels used to its rival, Irish Ferries.
O’Connell said that T4 “will ensure we create the capacity needed to support the ongoing growth in the economy to 2040, while providing new public amenities that will support the growth of our city and neighbouring community for decades to come.”
Development of T4 has also facilitated the closure of an entrance onto East Wall Road paving the way for DPC’s Liffey Tolka Greenway project on East Wall Road to commence construction in 2024.
Tags: Dublin Port Terminal; Seatruck; CLdN