Dun Laoghaire cruise terminal development

Proposals to establish a new cruise ship terminal at the Irish port of Dun Laoghaire have reached the planning application stage. The proposed new cruise terminal would allow the worlds largest cruise ships to be moored up in the port but the proposals are being resisted by yachtsmen say that the terminal and its activities would dominate the port.

Dun Laoghaire is now largely used for leisure activities although some smaller cruise ships berth at the port.

The proposed cruise ship terminal would extend out from the shore halfway across the harbour towards the entrance and the towering cruise ships would dominate the harbour landscape. It would be located alongside the existing 820 berth marina that is one of the largest in Ireland.

The location of the proposed cruise terminal would be in the centre of the harbour and would use the area that was previously occupied by the high speed ferry service to Holyhead. This ferry service, which was the last connection between Dun Laoghaire and the UK, has not re-opened after being shut down last winter with the conventional UK ferries using facilities in nearby Dublin Port. This leaves the ferry terminal and its area of land operations available for re-development. Currently the small cruise ships that enter the harbour moor up at the old ferry facilities on Carlisle Pier which are located on the east side of the harbour away from the marina and which can accommodate ships up to 130 metres in length.

The proposals for the new cruise terminal are being promoted by the Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group which includes the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company and in addition to the construction of the new terminal and pier the plan would involve extensive dredging of the entrance channel. This dredging would deepen the approach channel to the port and create a turning circle and a deeper channel to the proposed terminal. Large cruise ships would enter the turning circle and then reverse into the berth. It is estimated that the dredging would remove 710,000 cubic metres of spoil.

The new terminal pier would be 390 metres in length overall with the middle quay section just 120 metres long and with the berth being extended with tubular steel piles at each end of the fixed quay to support the ships and provide mooring posts. This will allow ships up to 400 metres long to moor alongside and the quay section would be connected to the shore by means of a 190 metre long access causeway. The existing marshalling area that was used by the fast ferry service would be converted into a large coach park with further coach parking nearby. Extensive landscaping work is also included in the proposals.

Dun Laoghaire is one of the largest man made ports in Europe but currently large cruise ships using the port have to anchor outside with passengers coming ashore by tender. 18 large cruise ships used these facilities last year, a figure that has suggested that there is considerable demand for the new cruise ship facilities. It is anticipated that the construction work will take 18 months and the proposed development would entail the removal of many of the swinging yacht moorings in the harbour.