Port of Cork building new container terminal

Operations are expected to commence by 2020. The Port of Cork announced Tuesday it has launched an 80 million euro (U.S. $92.5 million) container terminal development project in Ringaskiddy. Port of Cork Chairman John Mullins said the development at Ringaskiddy will replace the existing container terminal at Tivoli. The development includes the construction of a 13.5-hectare terminal and associated buildings, as well as two ship-to-shore gantry cranes and container-handling equipment, the port said. Initially, the Cork Container Terminal will offer a 360-meter quay with a 13-meter depth alongside, allowing larger ships to berth in Ringaskiddy. The port anticipates the Cork Container Terminal will become operational by 2020. “The development is being funded by the port through an innovative and award-winning financing structure comprising Allied Irish Banks PLC, the European Investment Bank and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, and also by including European Union Connecting Europe Facility funds and self-finance,” the port said. In 2017, the Port of Cork’s total container volumes through both Tivoli and Ringaskiddy container terminals ticked up 3.7 percent from 2016 to 217,763 TEUs. In terms of container services, in addition to multiple intra-North Europe loops, the port is called by the Hamburg Süd-operated EMCS, which connects North Europe with North America’s East Coast and Central America, according to BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool.