24 Although Dublin Port


Issue 7 2014 - Freight Business Journal Dublin set to double up by 2040 saw a


return to growth in 2013 in all sectors except lo-lo, its overall volumes were still 6.8% behind its record figure of 30.9m tonnes achieved in 2007. Dublin


Port Company comments in its annual report:


“In the long run, Dublin Port’s volumes tend to increase (or decrease) at a level of 1.36 times the change in GDP. The large increase in imports we saw during 2013 would suggest that the domestic economy is at last recovering and this would


give us optimism for continued growth in the port’s volumes during 2014 and beyond.” It is with this in mind that the


port has brought forward its Alexandra Basin redevelopment project. It lodged a planning application with Ireland’s


planning authority, An Bord


Pleanála, in March this year for work including deepening and reconfiguration of 1,000 metres of quay walls at North Wall Quay extension; deepening and rebuilding of 800 metres of quay walls at Alexandra Basin West; extension of Alexandra Quay West by 130 metres; infill of the basin at two berths and construction of a new 300 metre river berth; provision of a turning circle for ships; provision of a new 250 metre ro-ro jetty together with two new ro-ro berths within the inner basin; and dredging of the navigational


///IRELAND


channel to 10 metres to facilitate larger vessels. The Alexandra Basin project,


which will cost an estimated €200 million, forms a key part of Dublin’s master plan to cater


for a doubling of throughput to 60 million tonnes by 2040. The port says it has the financial resources needed to deliver the project, but is also investigating EU funding opportunities.


Burke on the expansion trail Move into Europe pays dividends for Quality Freight


The decision to open an office in Rotterdam at the end of last year is already paying dividends for the Quality Freight Group. The company was already


present in Rotterdam and Hull through its Bulk Logistics Solutions


(BLS) arm, but is


stronger after establishing the Quality Freight brand in the Netherlands, comments director Roger Barham. Quality Freight Group offers


container shipping and project cargo services while BLS, the group’s specialist liquid and dry bulk operator, moves shipments by road and sea. QFG has


Irish offices offices in Dublin, Knock and Belfast, together with Ellesmere Port on the UK mainland. “Our European short sea


business has grown inbound and outbound and we’re seeing growth year on year as the economy picks up. Eastern Europe is particularly strong, with increasing traffic to and from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania,” he says. In addition, the company has


begun offering 20ft and 40ft deepsea container services in conjunction with an established partner in the Far East.


“Ireland is still attractive as a manufacturing hub, so we get the benefit of two- directional traffic. This might be raw polymer or automotive components


and food


ingredients coming in, and finished products from soft drinks to forklift trucks shipping back out,” Barham explains. QFG is set to benefit from


the removal of EU dairy quotas next March. “We already have a


foothold in the packaged


cheese and butter sector via the brokerage route but we see opportunities in liquid cream and milk as well,” Barham says.


Burke Shipping Group kept growing through the recession thanks to its bulk and break- bulk activities, says commercial director Pat Brennan. The five times a week Cobelfret (CLdN) services from Dublin to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge have been a major contributor. Burke Shipping operates a


container terminal in Dublin and is also in Cork, Limerick, Belfast. It is owned by the Doyle family and offers a whole range of ancillary services from stevedoring to ship management and warehousing. Among the expanding


customers at Burke’s Dublin Container Terminal are Evergreen, which increased to a twice-weekly service from Rotterdam in July - once a week on its own account using the 700 teu Vega Stockholm, and once via a slot exchange arrangement with feeder operator X-Press Container Lines. Animal feed imports are a big


driver and the removal of milk quotas will give a significant boost to exports from next year, Brennan says. Five or six


production plants are under construction and he expects this new burst of activity to create an additional 25-30,000 box movements per year. The 70:30 ratio of import to export containers could reverse to something like 40:60, creating a repositioning issue. Brennan claims there is a benefit to being “line independent” with no in-house feeder operation, in contrast to Irish Continental with Eucon and Peel Ports with its BG Line services. Burke has acquired Diamond


Logistics Services (DLS), which provides warehousing, logistic solutions incorporating transportation, warehousing, distribution, European groupage and domestic haulage services to a range of blue chip companies across Ireland. Diamond has offices in Cork and Limerick with a 2,000sq metre warehouse in Raheen, Limerick. DLS directors John O’Sullivan and Nessan O’Connor and their staff have remained in place. “We already do freight forwarding in Belfast, Dublin,


Limerick and Cork. This is a nice fit because they bring groupage expertise,” Brennan says. “Their only warehouse was in Limerick and they had a bigger vision, so the deal suits both parties.” Burke has a new RTG arriving


in October, taking its total to seven, while a first ship-to-shore crane will be delivered next year. Burke Shipping is also one of


three bidders in the running to acquire Greenore Port, currently owned by Dublin Port Co and investment company One51. The Doyle family which


owns Burke was previously involved in a consortium with One51 that was involved a two- year takeover battle for


Irish


Continental Group, but finally gave up and sold its 12% stake. Greenore port is located at


the mouth of the deepwater Carlingford Lough on the east coast midway between Dublin and Belfast. It needs investment to offer any competition to Dublin and Belfast, but the Irish planning authority, An Bord Pleanála, describes Greenore as a “critical infrastructure asset”.


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