• 2020 December 15 10:28

    DPC completes major road works

    With just over two weeks to go before the re-introduction of border controls on goods arriving from Great Britain, Dublin Port Company (DPC) has announced:

    The completion of works to increase the capacity of Dublin Port’s internal road network; and
    The introduction of new internal traffic management measures to keep traffic flowing through Dublin Port.
    The new measures are being introduced this week and will be in full effect in advance of the introduction of the new border controls on 1st January 2021.

    Even with additional road capacity and traffic management measures in place at Dublin Port, all operators and port users have their part to play to keep trade flowing and ensure that extreme contingency plans are not needed in response to congestion.  This is especially so in the first 90 days of 2021.

    The challenge for State agencies – notably Customs and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) – is to apply border inspection controls efficiently around the clock on six times the volume of goods that were arriving off ferries 28 years ago when the Single European Market removed the need for such controls.

    As part of the challenge to prepare for Brexit, eight inspection facilities have been constructed for Customs and DAFM by DPC and OPW at six different locations in Dublin Port.  Dublin is already a busy port and the additional requirement for hauliers to move trailers between ferry terminals and these eight different facilities will increase traffic levels within the port for the same volume of cargo.

    Greater separation between the arrival times of the Holyhead ferries would greatly reduce the risk that the inevitable delays which border checks will cause might escalate to the point of congestion.

    In addition to the timing of ferry arrivals, there are busy container terminals in Dublin Port with high levels of HGV traffic particularly in the early morning and late afternoon on weekdays.  The collection of containers from terminals needs to be scheduled by the container terminal operators, the hauliers and the cargo owners to reduce peaks and prevent excessive queues building on the port’s internal road network.

    Brexit delays are inevitable – congestion is not.

    Announcing the new measures, Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port Company commented:

    “The continued congestion-free operation of Dublin Port post-Brexit requires all port users to play their part.  Since 2018, DPC has spent €30 million to make assets and infrastructure available to OPW to provide Border inspection facilities on eight sites covering a land area of 14.6 hectares.  There is now 16,000 square metres of warehousing with 25 loading bays giving an annual capacity for well over 100,000 physical inspections of containers and trailers.

    “There is huge infrastructural capacity in place and the challenge now is to use this capacity efficiently to ensure that goods keep flowing. There is a simple and obvious measure of success and that is the ability of hauliers to provide their essential services without being delayed in Dublin Port.  The six key messages we have published today are intended to help achieve this objective.  Delays because of Brexit border checks are inevitable, but congestion is not.

    “Even with continuing works on the port’s road network in recent times, we have recently seen two of the busiest months ever for unitised trade and traffic has flowed smoothly into and out of the port.  In October – the second busiest month in the history of Dublin Port – our unitised trade was 2.2% ahead of last year; November – the fourth busiest month ever – was 12.2% ahead.  Now that the road works are complete – and even with the introduction of border controls in January – there is no reason why traffic should not continue to flow freely so long as all supply chain operators play their part.

    “The closeness in the arrival times of ferries from Holyhead is an obvious cause of concern in January and brings with it the risk of delays being increased to the point of congestion on the road network within Dublin Port.  We have asked the two ferry companies operating the Holyhead services to bring the arrival time of the first ship in each of the four daily waves forward and to bring the second ship in somewhat later in order to flatten the demand curve for incoming HGVs.  In making this request we guaranteed to the ferry lines that they could return to their current slot times at any time during the first 90 days after the new border controls come into place.  Disappointingly, one has refused our request and the other has yet to respond.

    “Supply chain behaviour is going to have to change after Brexit and hauliers need to know what they can expect in terms of waiting times for border inspections by State agencies.  It is important for hauliers and their customers – the cargo owners – to know how long the different types of checks by Customs and DAFM will take so that they have some sense of the delays they will face and are able to plan their operations accordingly.

    “DPC and hauliers have a shared objective to keep goods flowing and we depend on the State agencies, the ferry companies and the container terminals to each do their part.  We would particularly encourage hauliers to demand service levels from container terminals and sailing times from ferry companies that meet their needs.”

    Port Entry and Exit routes – Major road works have been completed in the vicinity of the Circle-K service station and there is now full dual carriageway access and egress to Dublin Port along Promenade Road linking directly to the Dublin Port Tunnel.

    From 1st January 2021, HGVs will no longer be permitted to exit Dublin Port from Alexandra Road onto East Wall Road.

    Also, from 1st January 2021, HGVs accessing specified locations along Alexandra Road will be required to enter the port directly from East Wall Road.  All other HGV traffic will enter via Promenade Road.

    Ro-Ro ferries:

    For green-routed HGVs and tourist traffic arriving directly from Holyhead ferries, there is a direct, simple and well signposted 1,800 metre route to the Port’s exit on Promenade Road.
    For red-routed traffic, there are two specific routes to be followed to either T7 (1,400 metres) or T11 (1,500 metres) as required by Customs.
    Post Brexit, the timing requirements and needs of hauliers and cargo owners may change to the extent that current ferry arrival times might no longer meet their requirements.  If that is the case, DPC encourages hauliers to tell the ferry companies what their requirements are.  

    Container terminals – It will be necessary to prevent queues for container terminals backing out onto Alexandra Road and Tolka Quay Road.  If this happens, DPC will manage these queues actively and HGVs may be asked to leave the Port to prevent the onset of congestion.  DPC encourages hauliers to insist that container terminals provide booking slots to prevent drivers having to queue excessively.

    Dublin Port Tunnel – In the worst case, the contingency plan recently announced by the Department of Transport to deal with the impact of port congestion on roads outside Dublin Port will be implemented.  This could include U-turning traffic exiting the southbound bore of the Dublin Port Tunnel before it enters Dublin Port and directing it back through the northern bore of the tunnel to designated parking areas.

    All of the above measures are designed to maintain the efficient flow of HGVs within Dublin Port and prevent delays in port traffic escalating to the point where traffic on roads adjacent to the Port or on the national motorway network are affected.


2024 November 2

18:06 Singapore’s first fully electric cargo vessel wins Green Ship Award at SRS Forum
17:20 VTTI looks to buy into LNG terminals in Asia
16:48 Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding signs contracts for 12 large container ships in the past 10 days
16:32 CHIMBUSCO secures its first LNG refueling service in Europe
15:46 SLB OneSubsea awarded subsea boosting contract for bp’s Kaskida project in Gulf of Mexico
15:24 Wilson Sons to start construction of three new eco-friendly tugboats in 2025
14:57 Rem Offshore holds keel laying ceremony for REM Pioneer
12:30 World's first conversion of large container ship to run on methanol successfully completed
11:52 New offshore platform taps into potential of heavy-oil reserves in China
11:24 HRDD completes desulphurization tower system conversion for a PCTC
09:48 TOWT launches its first cargo sailing ship in Le Havre

2024 November 1

18:00 Marlink to deploy Sealink NextGen hybrid solution on 26 tankers for Transpetro
17:38 Austal Australia delivers 8th Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat to Royal Australian Navy
17:23 Acteon and Applied Fiber enter MoU to collaborate on mooring solutions
16:54 KOTUG International and Maritalia S.A. secure major marine services contract for bp’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project
16:24 BW LPG takes delivery of vessel BW Chinook from Avance Gas
15:44 HD Hyundai may nearly double shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam
15:24 Samsung Heavy Industries secures $390 mln contract for four Suezmax tankers
14:36 EU imposes duties on unfairly subsidised electric vehicles from China
14:23 Port of Montreal workers at two terminals start new strike
13:41 Chinese ports container volume rises 7.7 % from January to September of 2024
13:22 MOL, COSCO Co-host 6th Shanghai International LNG Shipping Forum
12:43 Global schedule reliability drops to 51.4% in September 2024
12:22 GTT secures technical services contract with Maran Tankers for eight LNG Dual-Fuel Suezmax vessels
11:45 MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries
11:28 China's first 'smart factory' for offshore oil, gas equipment fully operational
10:43 Yanmar completes land-based demonstration testing of a hydrogen engine for power generation in coastal vessels
10:23 Samsung Heavy wins W358 bln LNG ship order in Asia
09:58 EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 8% in 2023

2024 October 31

18:00 MAN receives multiple orders for MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM Mk 10.5 methanol engines to power a series of VLCV
17:23 The Marechal Duque de Caxias platform ship starts producing in the pre-salt layer
17:06 IWS Seawalker CSOV makes it 1000 ship designs from Kongsberg Maritime
16:45 “K” Line Wind Service and Japan Marine United sign agreement for Phase 2 of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project
16:04 Wärtsilä introduces its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine
15:45 MOL plans to change charter contract for vessels related to Russia business
15:44 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Oct 8 - Nov 1, 2024
15:23 HHLA raises expectations for fiscal year 2024
14:59 Major fire extinguished at UK nuclear submarine yard
14:16 AD Ports Group and Somali Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy sign MoU for maritime sector development
13:44 Maersk reports Q3 results
12:43 UECC orders four advanced multi-fuel battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing
11:39 Japanese сonsortium produces design concept for eco-friendly VLCC
11:12 TMC Compressors bags contract to supply four LNG carriers
10:46 Panama Canal operating costs down 5% in FY2024
09:29 HIF Global and Antarctica21 promote sustainable tourism with e-Fuels

2024 October 30

18:00 East Java Multipurpose Terminal partners with Sinarmas LDA Usaha Pelabuhan
17:22 Container traffic at Iranian ports up 5% in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year
17:06 CIMC SOE delivers second 7,600 cbm LNG bunkering vessel to Seaspan Energy
16:42 Klaveness Combination Carriers makes first move into wind with bound4blue eSAIL system on CABU III newbuild
16:23 Transport workers' strike in Argentina to affect port operations
15:59 South Korea's seaport container cargo up 3.5 pct in Q3
15:46 Stena Line marks significant milestones in build of NewMax ships, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta
14:55 DNV and LR grant AiP to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for ammonia duel-fuel large container vessel
14:45 Jiaxing Port adds a new sea-river intermodal operation area
13:32 Maersk signs long-term methanol sourcing deal
13:08 MOL and Pyxis sign Collaboration Agreement for development and market expansion of electric vessels in Singapore and Japan
12:40 AD Ports Group and the General Department of Vietnam Customs sign MoU
12:21 TE H2, CIP, and A.P. Møller Capital Partner for a large-scale project in the Kingdom of Morocco
11:40 ClassNK issues AiP for Autonomous Navigation Assistance System developed by Samsung Heavy Industries
11:20 MacGregor launches Carbon Calculator
10:55 Russian seaports in Q3, 2024: Infographics and Analytics
10:30 World's first ammonia-fuel dual-fuel bulk carrier begins construction
10:09 Erik Thun launches the next-generation Lake Vanern Max vessel
09:03 SCHOTTEL receives an order to supply azimuth thrusters for four new escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine

2024 October 29

18:00 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces selections for nearly $3 bln of investments in Clean Ports
17:34 Asyaport becomes first Turkish port to provide shore power to container ships
17:00 Port of Los Angeles awarded $412 million grant from U.S. EPA for zero-emission transformation
16:42 Oil spill occurred during bunkering operations at the Port of Singapore
16:10 World’s first electric hydrofoil ferry line takes off in Stockholm
15:46 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs five-year, $766 million deal