Following a review of the Statistics of Port Traffic (SPT) release for Quarter 4 and Year 2022, which was published on the 07 June 2023, data collections issues were identified.
As of 31 March 2025, the data has been revised. The tables affected by these revisions include the Headline Table, Table 1A, Table 2A and Table 5A. The figures affected are Figure 1 and Figure 2. The text of the release was also affected. The areas of text affected are the headline, two of the four key findings, the statistician’s comment, and the tables and figures section. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Total tonnes of goods handled by Irish ports in 2022 decreased by 1% compared with 2021.
During 2022, 12,517 vessels arrived in Irish ports, compared with 12,713 in 2021.
Dublin port accounted for 59% of all vessel arrivals in Irish ports in 2022.
Goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to 17 million tonnes in 2022, while a total of 36.3 million tonnes of goods were received.
| Tonnage of goods handled by main Irish ports, Quarter 4 and Year 2021-2022 | |||||||
| '000 tonnes | |||||||
| Quarter 4 (main Irish ports) | Annual (all Irish ports) | ||||||
| Category of goods | 2021 | 2022 | % Change | 2021 | 2022 | % Change | |
| Liquid bulk | 2,842 | 2,980 | 5% | 11,096 | 11,436 | 4% | |
| Dry bulk | 4,211 | 3,506 | -17% | 16,858 | 15,786 | -7% | |
| Lift-on/lift-off | 2,131 | 1,996 | -6% | 8,796 | 8,457 | -4% | |
| Roll-on/roll-off | 4,010 | 3,973 | -1% | 15,381 | 16,106 | 5% | |
| Break bulk & other goods | 291 | 227 | -22% | 1,828 | 1,569 | -14% | |
| Total | 13,484 | 12,681 | -6% | 53,958 | 53,354 | -1% | |
The tonnage of goods handled decreased in three of five traffic categories in 2022, there was a percentage increase in Roll-on/roll-off traffic (5%) and Liquid bulk (4%).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (07 June 2023) published Statistics of Port Traffic results for 2022.
Commenting on the quarterly figures, Dr Nele van der Wielen, Statistician in the Transport Division, said: “Irish ports handled 53.4 million tonnes of goods in 2022. This is a decrease of 1% compared with 2021. Goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to 17 million tonnes in 2022, while a total of 36.3 million tonnes of goods were received. Goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to 17.4 million tonnes in 2021, while a total of 36.6 million tonnes of goods were received in 2021.
Great Britain & Northern Ireland accounted for 35% of the total tonnage of goods handled in the main ports by region of trade in 2022. EU countries accounted for 40% of the total tonnage of goods handled in the main ports.
Port Traffic
In 2022, 12,517 vessels arrived in Irish ports. In 2021 12,713 vessels arrived. Most vessels in 2022 arrived in Dublin. Dublin port accounted for 59% of all vessel arrivals in Irish ports in 2022.
Cruise Ships
Cruise ship traffic returned after the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 240 cruise ships arrived in Irish ports in 2022, which was 75 fewer compared with 2019 when 315 cruise ships visited Ireland. The majority of cruise ships arrived between May and September 2022. The most popular ports for cruise ships were Cork and Dún Laoghaire.”