The Port of Cork is the main port serving the South of Ireland, County Cork and Cork City. It offers all six shipping modes i.e. Lift-on Lift-off, Roll-on Roll-off, Liquid Bulk, Dry Bulk, Break Bulk and Cruise. In 2015 over 11 million tonnes of freight was shipped through the Port of Cork, making it Ireland’s second busiest port. As well as berths in Cork city the port also encompasses other major locations distributed round Cork Harbour including Tivoli on the eastern suburbs, Cobh on the south of Great Island and Ringaskiddy on the west of the harbour.
History
Historically, the navigation and port facilities of the city and harbour were managed by the Cork Harbour Commissioners. Founded in 1814, the Cork Harbour Commissioners moved to the Custom House in 1904. Following the implementation of the 1996 Harbours Act, by March 1997 all assets of the Commissioners were transferred to the Port of Cork Company. This statutory body is responsible for the management, control, operation and development of the Port of Cork and the harbour.
Operations
The Port of Cork company is a commercial semi-state company responsible for the commercial running of the harbour as well as responsibility for navigation and berthage in the port. In 2011 the port had a turnover of €21.4 million and made pre-tax profits of €1.2 million. This was down from a turnover of €26.4 million and profits of €5.4 million in 2006. Container traffic increased by 6% in 2011 when 156,667 teus were handled at the Tivoli container facility, however this was down from a peak of 185,000 teus in 2006. The 2006 figure saw the port at full capacity and the Port drew up plans for a new container facility capable of handling up to 400,000 teus per annum at Ringaskiddy recently. This was the subject of major objections and after an Oral Planning Hearing was held in 2008 the Irish planning board Bord Pleanala rejected the plan due to inadequate rail and road links at the location. There has been an increase in cruise ship visits to Cork Harbour in the early 21st century, with 53 such ships visiting the port in 2011, increasing to approximately 100 cruise ship visits by 2019. These cruise ships berth at the Port of Cork's deepwater quay in Cobh, which is Ireland's only dedicated berth for cruise ships.
Traffic
Vessels up to are capable of coming through entrance to Cork Harbour. As the shipping channels get shallower the farther inland one travels, access becomes constricted, and only vessels up to can sail above Cobh. The Port of Cork provides pilotage and towage facilities for vessels entering Cork Harbour. All vessels accessing the quays in Cork City must be piloted and all vessels exceeding 130 metres in length must be piloted once they pass within of the harbour entrance.
Facilities
The Port of Cork has berthing facilities at Cork City, Tivoli, Ringaskiddy, and Cobh. Cork City's quays are primarily used for grain and oil transport. The city quays house 10 berths, mostly privately owned. Tivoli's facilities provide container handling, facilities for oil and ore, livestock, and a roll on-roll off ramp. Prior to the opening of Ringaskiddy Ferry Port, some car ferries also sailed from here. Now, the Ro-Ro ramp at Tivoli is used by companies importing cars into Ireland. Ringaskiddy is home to a passenger and car ferry terminal, and operates as a deep water port. Cobh's quays are used as a terminal for cruise ships - the only such dedicated cruise terminal in the Republic of Ireland. There are a number of other private berths elsewhere around the harbour. These are usually associated with a particular industry. These specialised berths are in Whitegate, Passage West, Rushbrooke, Ringaskiddy and Haulbowline.
Passenger ferries
Operating since the late 1970s, Brittany Ferries runs a ferry service to Roscoff in France. This operates between April and November from the Ro Ro facilities at Ringaskiddy. Previous ferry services ran to Swansea in Wales and Santander in Spain. The former, the Swansea Cork ferry, ran initially between 1987 and 2006 and also briefly between 2010 and 2012. The latter, a Brittany Ferries Cork–Santander service, started in 2018 but was cancelled in early 2020.
