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E-mail: transport@cso.ie Sandra O'Riordan +353 21 453 5544 Brendan Curtin +353 21 453 5120
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information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-6380
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Statistics of Port Traffic

2018

Tonnage of goods handled, 2017-2018
  '000 tonnes 
Category of goods20172018change
Liquid bulk12,21112,171-0.3%
Dry bulk16,80517,754+5.6%
Lift-on/lift-off7,3467,629+3.9%
Roll-on/roll-off15,49716,037+3.5%
Break bulk & other goods1,4861,496+0.7%
Total53,34655,086+3.3%

Irish ports handled 55.1 million tonnes of goods in 2018

Statistics of port traffic Figure 1 – Cargo handled
go to full release

Irish ports handled 55.1 million tonnes of goods in 2018, an increase of 3.3% when compared with 2017. Goods forwarded from Irish ports amounted to 18.0 million tonnes in 2018, an increase of 0.8% when compared with the previous year. A total of 37.1 million tonnes of goods were received in 2018, an annual increase of 4.5%. See table 4.

The tonnage of goods handled rose in four out of five traffic categories in 2018, with the largest annual percentage increase in dry bulk goods (+5.6%). The only decrease recorded was in liquid bulk which fell marginally by 0.3% annually.

Dublin port accounted for 59.3% of all vessel arrivals in Irish ports and almost half (47.8%) of the total tonnage of goods handled in 2018. See tables 1 and 8.

Great Britain & Northern Ireland accounted for two-fifths (40.0%) of the total tonnage of goods handled by region of trade in 2018, while other EU countries accounted for 34.1%. Roll-on/roll-off traffic accounted for 62.9% of trade with Great Britain & Northern Ireland. Dry bulk goods and Lift-on/lift-off traffic combined totalled 75.7% of trade with Other EU countries, while 71.6% of trade with Non-European ports was dry bulk goods. See table 5C.

The annual analysis also shows that:

  • The number of vessels arriving annually in Irish ports increased by 3.4% to 13,264 in 2018, while the gross tonnage of these vessels rose by 8.8% to 264.4 million tonnes. See table 1.
  • Goods received accounted for two-thirds (67.3%) of the total tonnage of goods handled in 2018. Of the total weight of goods handled in 2018, dry bulk accounted for 32.2%, roll-on/roll-off 29.1%, liquid bulk 22.1%, lift-on/lift-off 13.8% and break bulk 2.7%. See table 4.
  • The routes between Dublin and three UK ports – Holyhead, Liverpool and Milford Haven were the busiest routes for inward movement of goods in 2018.  The Dublin-Holyhead and Dublin-Liverpool routes were also the busiest routes in terms of goods forwarded. See tables 10A and 10B.
Table 1: Number of arrivals and gross tonnage of vessels, 2014 - 20181
Port 2014 2015 2016 20172018
 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000NumberGross tonnage '000
Arklow -- -- -- 13--
Bantry Bay 271,110 29974 9235 2381924800
Castletownbere 1329 1542 1443 16411952
Cork 1,18416,942 1,17418,787 1,12018,102 1,26318,3621,48724,360
Drogheda 376966 384980 379995 3921,0624461,209
Dublin 7,040156,718 7,106164,806 7,665171,539 7,713175,8487,860178,735
Dundalk 3577 4289 8292 367654122
Dun Laoghaire 1573,083 8553 3680 767330
Galway 167695 160602 170603 176717180856
Greenore 116526 118735 131682 1298231431,054
Killybegs 72555 56588 53465 2338030704
Kilrush -- -- -- ----
Kinsale -- 717 1129 5131540
New Ross 114281 94239 94228 115193130173
Rosslare 1,69233,492 1,69533,460 1,70132,903 1,770346511,64745,838
Shannon Foynes 6626,904 7618,385 93610,179 5157,0235166,769
Sligo 1222 1325 1632 9181319
Tralee Fenit 19187 21191 20187 2023618194
Waterford2 4272,375 4412,436 3822,212 4502,5035153,185
Wicklow 56129 96175 114203 123212137244
Youghal 7058 5548 5044 43422727
Total 12,239224,149 12,275233,132 12,909239,053 12,829243,089 13,264264,410
1 Minor revisions for some ports have been made from 2014-2017.
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 1 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 2: Number of arrivals and gross tonnage of vessels classified by type of vessel, 2018
PortVessel type Total
Liquid bulk Dry bulk Container Specialised General Passenger 
NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000
Arklow-- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bantry Bay15599--------920124800
Castletownbere--1952--------1952
Cork3924,7081351,7703594,181522,3554564,748936,5991,48724,360
Drogheda27692454----3951,086--4461,209
Dublin5274,449601,0159667,6551042,8646,053155,2001507,5517,860178,735
Dundalk-- -- -- -- 54122 -- 54122
Dun Laoghaire-- -- -- -- -- 330 330
Galway11137960177------9300180856
Greenore--89855--42450175--1431054
Killybegs------1314551564630704
Kilrush--------------
Kinsale--1540--------1540
New Ross--130173--------130173
Rosslare------429051,60544,933--1,64745,838
Shannon Foynes10610321964,865--3662087123945166,769
Sligo--1319--------1319
Tralee Fenit--------18194--18194
Waterford--8155997772103881,471187715153,185
Wicklow--------137244--137244
Youghal--------2727--2727
Total1,17811,235 7499,174 1,42412,613 2086,227 9,405208,967 30016,193 13,264264,410
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 2 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 3: Number of arrivals and gross tonnage of vessels classified by vessel size class, 2018
PortVessel size class (tonnes) Total
100-4,999 5,000-7,999 8,000-19,999 20,000-39,999 40,000-79,999 >=80,000 
NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000 NumberGross tonnage '000
Arklow-- -- -- -- -- -- --
Bantry Bay13 -- 232 11316 10450 -- 24800
Castletownbere1952 -- -- -- -- -- 1952
Cork7032,141 1821274 1721,897 2316,245 1618,154 384,650 1,48724,360
Drogheda4441,198 210 -- -- -- -- 4461,209
Dublin8272,763 8125,797 2,76541,232 1,96654,426 1,45370,092 374,424 7,860178,735
Dundalk54122 --  -- -- -- 54122
Dun Laoghaire-- -- 330 -- -- -- 330
Galway169545 211 344 3110 3146 -- 180856
Greenore80220 29192 19286 15355 -- -- 1431054
Killybegs1346 212 225 5142 4195 4283 30704
Kilrush-- -- -- -- -- -- --
Kinsale1540 -- -- -- -- -- 1540
New Ross130173 -- -- -- -- -- 130173
Rosslare1424 -- -- 1,63345,814 -- -- 1,64745,838
Shannon Foynes283849 44251 46672 1002,947 391,681 4370 5166,769
Sligo1319 -- -- -- -- -- 1319
Tralee Fenit28 640 10146 -- -- -- 18194
Waterford326938 1491,068 17222 17446 3177 3334 5153,185
Wicklow137244 -- -- -- -- -- 137244
Youghal2727 -- -- -- -- -- 2727
Total3,2579,411 1,2288,656 3,03944,586 3,981110,801 1,67380,895 8610,061 13,264264,410
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 3 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 4: Tonnage of goods handled classified by category of traffic, 2014 - 2018
    ‘000
Category of traffic20142015201620172018
Goods received
Liquid bulk8,5759,7299,1179,6449,806
Dry bulk 9,34511,94911,83112,67113,555
Lift-on/lift-off traffic3,6033,8143,9473,9544,138
Roll-on/roll-off traffic7,0117,3917,9988,3318,718
Break bulk and all other goods550757852899871
Total 29,08333,63833,74435,49937,088
 
Goods forwarded
Liquid bulk2,7702,7092,1572,5672,364
Dry bulk 5,7833,9184,1064,1344,199
Lift-on/lift-off traffic3,0423,1693,2833,3923,491
Roll-on/roll-off traffic6,0946,5166,8867,1677,319
Break bulk and all other goods711715535587624
Total 18,40017,02816,96717,84717,998
Total goods handled
Liquid bulk11,34512,43811,27412,21112,171
Dry bulk 15,12815,86615,93716,80517,754
Lift-on/lift-off traffic6,6466,9837,2307,3467,629
Roll-on/roll-off traffic13,10413,90714,88415,49716,037
Break bulk and all other goods1,2611,4721,3871,4861,496
Total 47,48350,66650,71253,34655,086
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 4 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 5A: Tonnage of goods received classified by category of traffic and region of trade, 2018
      ‘000
Category of trafficRegion of trade
Great Britain & Northern IrelandOther EUNon-EU1Other ports2Coastal tradeTotal
Liquid bulk
Liquefied gas621613-293
Crude oil5941191,4351,098-3,247
Oil products3,475965477437015,661
Other liquid bulk goods31162644934828805
Total4,2481,3641,9741,4897329,806
       
Dry bulk      
Ores-1,27782,69013,977
Coal1171396790-1,269
Agricultural products4862,5033502,2331845,757
Other dry bulk goods32161,954235116302,551
Total7135,8069895,83021613,555
       
Lift-on/lift-off traffic      
20 ft containers90656315755
40 ft containers3452,576870253,024
Other containers0355--3359
Total4363,5861171344,138
       
Roll-on/roll-off traffic      
Road goods vehicles3,029166---3,195
Trade vehicles1714492-172
Unaccompanied trailers4,3181,033-0-5,351
Total7,3641,34392-8,718
       
Break bulk and other goods      
Forestry products1308933163272
Iron and steel products2320871103315
Other general cargo31116884119284
Total1654651882825871
       
Total12,92512,5653,1727,4201,00737,088
1 Trade with ports in European countries that are not members of the E.U.
2 Trade with ports in Non-European countries
3 A small amount of data which cannot be coded to individual traffic categories has been included under 'Other' goods.
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 5A (XLS 14KB)
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Table 5B: Tonnage of goods forwarded classified by category of traffic and region of trade, 2018
      ‘000
Category of trafficRegion of tradeTotal
Great Britain & Northern IrelandOther EUNon-EU1Other ports2Coastal trade
Liquid bulk
Liquefied gas225--027
Crude oil3322-274-329
Oil products6191711233797142,007
Other liquid bulk goods3---2-2
Total6542181236557142,364
       
Dry bulk
Ores-18711491-391
Coal4----4
Agricultural products303893-79
Other dry bulk goods31,4261,61332093573,725
Total1,4591,8384421033574,199
       
Lift-on/lift-off traffic
20 ft containers3627902310349
40 ft containers2652,3321551032,756
Other containers1385--1386
Total3022,9961781143,491
       
Roll-on/roll-off traffic      
Road goods vehicles2,824179---3,002
Trade vehicles01-1-2
Unaccompanied trailers3,658656-0-4,315
Total6,482835-1-7,319
       
Break bulk and other goods      
Forestry products736950-147
Iron and steel products9716221427302
Other general cargo33611261111175
Total206343132437624
       
Total9,1036,2315798621,22317,998
1 Trade with ports in European countries that are not members of the E.U.
2 Trade with ports in Non-European countries
3 A small amount of data which cannot be coded to individual traffic categories has been included under 'Other' goods.
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 5B (XLS 14KB)
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Table 5C: Total tonnage of goods handled classified by category of traffic and region of trade, 2018
      ‘000
Category of trafficRegion of tradeTotal
Great Britain & Northern IrelandOther EUNon-EU1Other ports2Coastal trade
Liquid bulk
Liquefied gas634113-2119
Crude oil6281411,4351,372-3,576
Oil products4,0951,1366004221,4167,668
Other liquid bulk goods31162644935028807
Total4,9021,5822,0972,1441,44612,171
       
Dry bulk      
Ores-1,4641222,78114,368
Coal1571396790-1,273
Agricultural products5162,5413592,2361845,836
Other dry bulk goods31,6413,5675551263886,276
Total2,1727,6441,4325,93357317,754
       
Lift-on/lift-off traffic      
20 ft containers127935323161,104
40 ft containers6104,90891251285,780
Other containers1740--4745
Total7386,583121481487,629
       
Roll-on/roll-off traffic      
Road goods vehicles5,853345---6,198
Trade vehicles1714494-174
Unaccompanied trailers7,9761,689-0-9,665
Total13,8462,17894-16,037
       
Break bulk and other goods      
Forestry products20315938163419
Iron and steel products120370732430617
Other general cargo347280901230459
Total37180920152621,496
       
Total22,02818,7953,7518,2812,23055,086
1 Trade with ports in European countries that are not members of the E.U.
2 Trade with ports in Non-European countries
3 A small amount of data which cannot be coded to individual traffic categories has been included under 'Other' goods.
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 5C (XLS 14KB)
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Table 6: Details of roll-on/roll-off traffic handled by port, 2018
PortPassenger cars, motorcycles and accompanying trailers/caravansPassenger busesTrade vehicles1Freight vehicles/trailers2
Number Number NumberTonnes '000LoadedEmpty
   NumberTonnes '000Number
Received
Cork18,186 35 34,46343 1,88028288
Dublin260,187 4,338 107,336104 529,2837,61922,098
Rosslare127,502 1,637 20,62525 60,4979001,668
Total405,875 6,010 162,424172 591,6608,54624,054
          
Forwarded      
Cork18,585 40 1,0281 2,00634376
Dublin237,883 6,235 1,0040 502,1946,084105,063
Rosslare123,337 1,810 2390 68,9371,199903
Total379,805 8,085 2,2712 573,1377,317106,342
           
Total      
Cork36,771 75 35,49145 3,88662664
Dublin498,070 10,573 108,340104 1,031,47713,703127,161
Rosslare250,839 3,447 20,86425 129,4342,0982,571
Total785,680 14,095 164,695174 1,164,79715,863130,396
1 Vehicles imported or exported
2 Includes data on (a) road goods vehicles and accompanying trailers (b) unaccompanied road goods trailers and semi trailers and
(c ) unaccompanied caravans and other road, agricultural and industrial trailers
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 6 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 7: Details of lift-on/lift-off traffic handled by port, 2018
          
PortLoaded units Empty unitsTotal units
NumberTEU's1Tonnes '000 NumberTEU's1 NumberTEU's1
Received         
Cork48,30383,13984816,42631,81264,729114,952
Dublin192,299339,9523,15213,68026,497205,979366,448
Waterford6,38312,5241384,1059,18610,48821,710
Total246,985435,6154,13834,21167,494281,196503,109
         
Forwarded         
Cork49,67094,20795514,80720,12564,477114,332
Dublin117,011215,9302,37984,685144,953201,696360,883
Waterford8,22218,2741572,5253,96010,74722,234
Total174,903328,4113,491102,017169,038276,920497,449
         
Total         
Cork97,973177,3461,80331,23351,937129,206229,283
Dublin309,310555,8825,53298,365171,449407,675727,331
Waterford14,60530,7992956,63013,14621,23543,944
Total421,888764,0267,629 136,228236,532 558,1161,000,558
1 TEU Twenty-foot equivalent unit = 1360 cubic feet
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 7 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 8A: Tonnage of goods received and forwarded classified by port and region of trade, 2018
      ‘000
PortRegion of tradeTotal
Great Britain & Northern IrelandOther EUNon-EU1Other ports2Coastal trade
Goods received
Arklow------
Bantry Bay-128-106-234
Castletownbere-058--58
Cork8811,6661,6282,016136,203
Drogheda143619573123872
Dublin10,4404,89555255248216,922
Dundalk2359-550
Dun Laoghaire------
Galway13251-383422
Greenore-38276444-903
Killybegs-5---5
Kilrush------
Kinsale344---47
New Ross12306207-345
Rosslare747196---944
Shannon Foynes5662,9225744,019998,180
Sligo51---6
Tralee Fenit------
Waterford311,27516624431,719
Wicklow7750---126
Youghal61532--53
Total12,92512,5653,1727,4201,00737,088
       
Goods forwarded      
Arklow------
Bantry Bay33--274-307
Castletownbere------
Cork7961,2851273857203,314
Drogheda31325829-583
Dublin5,8703,036297781299,410
Dundalk4815---63
Dun Laoghaire------
Galway32128---160
Greenore-3---3
Killybegs155-8-28
Kilrush------
Kinsale------
New Ross3016---45
Rosslare997202---1,199
Shannon Foynes8821,008147913742,501
Sligo13----13
Tralee Fenit18217-28
Waterford102634--276
Wicklow625---67
Youghal------
Total9,1036,2315798621,22317,998
1 Trade with ports in European countries that are not members of the E.U.
2 Trade with ports in Non-European countries
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 8A (XLS 14KB)
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Table 8B: Total tonnage of goods handled classified by port and region of trade, 2018
      ‘000
PortRegion of tradeTotal
Great Britain & Northern IrelandOther EUNon-EU1Other ports2Coastal trade
Arklow------
Bantry Bay33128-380-542
Castletownbere-058--58
Cork1,6772,9511,7552,4017339,518
Drogheda4568775940231,455
Dublin16,3117,93284963061126,332
Dundalk50509-5113
Dun Laoghaire------
Galway461531-383582
Greenore-38576444-906
Killybegs159-8-32
Kilrush------
Kinsale344---47
New Ross41321207-390
Rosslare1,744398---2,143
Shannon Foynes1,4493,9307204,11047210,681
Sligo171---19
Tralee Fenit18217-28
Waterford401,53816924431,995
Wicklow13954---193
Youghal61532--53
Total22,02818,7953,7518,2812,23055,086
1 Trade with ports in European countries that are not members of the E.U.
2 Trade with ports in Non-European countries
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 8B (XLS 13KB)
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Table 9A: Tonnage of goods received and forwarded classified by port and category of traffic, 2018
      ‘000
PortCategory of trafficTotal
Liquid bulkDry bulkLift-on/lift-offRoll-on/roll-offBreak bulk & other goods
Goods received
Arklow------
Bantry Bay234----234
Castletownbere----5858
Cork3,3011,91084871746,203
Drogheda36647--189872
Dublin4,6331,3983,1527,7221616,922
Dundalk-50---50
Dun Laoghaire------
Galway407---15422
Greenore-718--184903
Killybegs----55
Kilrush------
Kinsale-47---47
New Ross3342---345
Rosslare---92419944
Shannon Foynes1,1936,904--838,180
Sligo-1--56
Tralee Fenit------
Waterford-1,532138-491,719
Wicklow-5--122126
Youghal----5353
Total9,80613,5554,1388,71887137,088
       
Goods forwarded
Arklow------
Bantry Bay307----307
Castletownbere------
Cork2,05583955361863,314
Drogheda-559--24583
Dublin29362,3796,08489,410
Dundalk-63---63
Dun Laoghaire------
Galway-103--57160
Greenore-3---3
Killybegs-12--1628
Kilrush------
Kinsale------
New Ross-45--045
Rosslare---1,199-1,199
Shannon Foynes-2,359--1422,501
Sligo-4--913
Tralee Fenit----2828
Waterford-20157-99276
Wicklow-12--5567
Youghal------
Total2,3644,1993,4917,31962417,998
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 9A (XLS 14KB)
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Table 9B: Total tonnage of goods handled classified by port and category of traffic, 2018
      ‘000
PortCategory of trafficTotal
Liquid bulkDry bulkLift-on/lift-offRoll-on/roll-offBreak bulk & other goods
Arklow------
Bantry Bay542----542
Castletownbere----5858
Cork5,3551,9931,8031072609,518
Drogheda361,207--2131,455
Dublin4,6352,3355,53213,8072426,332
Dundalk-113---113
Dun Laoghaire------
Galway407103--72582
Greenore-721--184906
Killybegs-12--2132
Kilrush------
Kinsale-47---47
New Ross3387--0390
Rosslare---2,123192,143
Shannon Foynes1,1939,263--22510,681
Sligo-5--1419
Tralee Fenit----2828
Waterford-1,552295-1481,995
Wicklow-17--176193
Youghal----5353
Total12,17117,7547,62916,0371,49655,086
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 9B (XLS 13KB)
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Table 10A: Tonnage of goods received classified by port and detailed region of trade for key ports, 2018
         ‘000
Detailed region of tradePortTotal
Bantry BayCorkDroghedaDublinGalwayRosslareShannon FoynesWaterford
Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Belfast-10-184--47-241
Fishguard-----247--247
Heysham---356----356
Holyhead---3,470----3,470
Liverpool-1442,982--2663,033
Milford Haven (inc. Pembroke)-40242,830-481231-3,607
Sullom Voe-490------490
Other ports-3271146171319262251,377
Total-88114310,440137475663112,821
          
Other EU
Belgium - Antwerp-23711475--6818808
Belgium - Zeebrugge---593----593
France - Rouen342021619-22117286
Germany - Hamburg-883418--1576231
Netherlands - Amsterdam-532060--8836256
Netherlands - Rotterdam-695212,489--941563,455
Spain - Bilbao-1-286---54341
Spain - Gijon-34121----109264
Spain - Las Palmas------1,736-1,736
Sweden - Brofjorden---71--270-342
Other ports94539391841161966287093,414
Total1281,6666194,895251962,9221,27511,727
          
Non-EU
Norway-1,482-13--24121,530
Russia-5620523--5111201,231
Other countries-8936171-3934216
Total-1,628575521-5741662,977
          
Other ports
Argentina-310-170----480
Brazil-45-23--81818904
Canada-380-174--128126809
Columbia------656-656
U.S.A.-7681137--492481,446
Other countries1065143047--1,925522,673
Total1062,01631552--4,0192446,968
          
Coastal trade
All ports-1323482383-9931,002
Total-1323482383-9931,002
          
Total12346,20387216,9224229448,1801,71935,495
1 The activity of all other Irish ports not listed above amounts to a total of 1,593,000 tonnes
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 10A (XLS 15KB)
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Table 10B: Tonnage of goods forwarded classified by port and detailed region of trade for key ports, 2018
         ‘000
Detailed region of tradePortTotal
Bantry BayCorkDroghedaDublinGalwayRosslareShannon FoynesWaterford
Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Fishguard-----330--330
Heysham---273----273
Holyhead---2,846----2,846
Immingham-295------295
Liverpool-20-2,496--11542,635
London-0224---93-317
Milford Haven-140---667--807
Other ports333429025532-67461,432
Total337963135,87032997882108,935
          
Other EU
Belgium - Antwerp-26025396--43-725
Belgium - Ghent--2022--79-283
Belgium - Zeebrugge---290---6296
France - Cherbourg---56-198--254
France - Dunkerque-11----236-247
Netherlands - Rotterdam-530201,677--2641602,650
Other ports-484126151283386971,724
Total-1,2852583,0361282021,0082636,180
          
Non-EU
Norway-127-296--133440
Other countries-021--1330137
Total-1272297--1474577
          
Other ports
Canada 2115     217
U.S.A.69135-2----206
Other countries20538475--91-413
Total274385978--91-836
          
Coastal trade
All ports-720-129--374-1,223
Total-720-129--374-1,223
          
Total13073,3145839,4101601,1992,50127617,751
1 The activity of all other Irish ports not listed above amounts to a total of 247,000 tonnes
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 10B (XLS 12KB)
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Table 11: Passengers1 disembarking/embarking classified by port and route, 2018
‘000
PortCountryTotal
Great Britain FranceOther2
FishguardHolyheadLiverpool CherbourgRoscoff
Disembarking
  Cork--- -47855
  Dublin-86924 10-2906
  Rosslare137-- 8937142405
  Total13786924 100841531,366
         
Embarking
  Cork--- -461056
  Dublin-85320 11-2886
  Rosslare130-- 8842142402
  Total13085320 99881541,344
         
All Passengers
  Cork--- -9318110
  Dublin -1,72245 21-51,792
  Rosslare267-- 17780284808
  Total2671,72245 1981723072,711
1 Excluding cruise passengers on excursion
2 Not precluding other British and French ports
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 11 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 12: Number of cruise ships and passengers by port, 2018
PortsNumber of cruise shipsNumber of passengers
Bantry Bay95,472
Castletownbere00
Cork93157,669
Dublin1150196,899
Dún Laoghaire3476
Galway96,059
Killybegs1513,070
Rosslare00
Shannon Foynes31,333
Waterford1817,527
Total300398,505
1 Includes passengers embarking in Dublin port
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 12 (XLS 9KB)
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Table 13: Number of cruise ships by month of arrival and passengers, 2018
 Number of cruise shipsNumber of passengers
January00
February00
March2968
April1825,406
May75106,023
June4356,895
July5469,580
August5178,319
September4748,270
October811,909
November00
December21,135
Total300398,505
Open in Excel: Statistics of port traffic 2018 Table 13 (XLS 9KB)
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Background Notes

Coverage

This release contains the results of an annual analysis of activity at Irish ports in 2018. The data is compiled from returns made by Scheduled Harbour Authorities, State Companies and a number of other harbours as outlined below:

Scheduled harbour authorities
Arklow harbour commissioners
Bantry Bay harbour commissioners
Kilrush town council
Kinsale harbour commissioners
Sligo harbour commissioners
Tralee and Fenit pier and harbour commissioners
Youghal town council

State Companies
Drogheda port company
Dublin port company
Dundalk port company
Dun Laoghaire harbour company
Galway harbour company
New Ross port company
Port of Cork company
Port of Waterford company
Shannon Foynes port company
Wicklow port company

Other harbours
Castletownbere fishery harbour centre
Greenore port
Killybegs fishery harbour centre
Rosslare Europort

As the figures (detailed in tables 1-13) have been rounded independently there may be slight discrepancies between the sum of the constituent items and the totals shown. A ‘0’ indicates a value that has been rounded to zero, whereas a ‘-’ indicates no activity.

Definitions

Tonnage of Goods:
This includes the weight of immediate packaging material but excludes, in the case of containerised traffic, the weight of containers. The tonnage of goods for roll-on/roll-off traffic may be based on estimated coefficients for certain vehicle categories. The export of live cattle on the hoof is excluded from the tonnage of goods in this release.

Region of Trade:
Coastal - Trade between Irish ports excluding Northern Ireland.
Great Britain & Northern Ireland - Includes Isle of Man and other British crown dependencies.
Other EU - Trade with ports in European countries that are members of the E.U. excluding Ireland and Great Britain. Outermost regions of Member States (e.g. the Canary Islands) are included.
Non EU - Trade with ports in European countries that are not members of the E.U.
Other Ports - Trade with ports in Non European countries.

Gross Tonnage of Vessels:
The measure of the overall size of a ship determined in accordance with the provisions of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969.

Vessel types:
Only the activity of trading vessels, car ferries and other passenger vessels is covered in the series. Only vessels of at least 100 gross tonnes are included. The following vessels are excluded:

– Fish-catching vessels
– Fish-processing vessels
– Vessels for drilling and exploration (exception: Killybegs)
– Tugs
– Pusher craft
– Research and survey vessels
– Dredgers
– Naval vessels
– Vessels used solely for non-commercial purposes
– Vessels entering the ports for shelter

Vessel types are classified according to the International Classification of Ship Types (ICST-COM). Cruise liners are included where passengers embark or disembark in port.

The ship categories included under each vessel type are outlined below:

Liquid bulk vessels:
Oil tanker
Chemical tanker
Liquid gas tanker
Tanker barge
Other tanker

Dry bulk vessels:
Bulk/oil carrier
Bulk carrer

Container vessels:
Full container

Specialised vessels:
Barge carrier
Chemical carrier
Irradiated fuel carrier
Livestock carrier
Vehicle carrier
Other specialised carrier

General cargo vessels:
Reefer
Ro-ro passenger
Ro-ro container
Other ro-ro container
Combination carrier general cargo/passenger
Combination carrier general cargo/container
Single decker
Multi-decker

Passenger vessels:
Cruise liners
Other passenger only vessels

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Scan the QR code below to view this release online or go to
http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/spt/statisticsofporttraffic2018/

Contact:

Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

Tel:
(+353) 21 453 5000
E-Mail:
information@cso.ie

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