The Irish Sea is earmarked for €21bn in the creation, installation, operation, and maintenance of offshore renewable energy projects, and Irish ports are now targeting a portion of this market.

Irish ports have been handling fewer goods each quarter since the beginning of 2011 — the last time there was an increase in shipping volumes.

The Government has hinted at “a radical overhaul” of the ports network in the aftermath of further declines in freight business.

Imports of petrol through ports increased by €1bn last year despite a fall in the volume of imports, according to a report on the performance of Irish ports.

THE volume of freight traffic through Ireland’s ports continued to fall in the third quarter of the year.

Dublin: Ireland’s shipping and port traffic have grown across all sectors during the first quarter of 2011, according to the Irish Maritime Development Office.

THE Irish ports and shipping sector experienced a return to growth last year after a record collapse of shipping volumes in 2009.

IRISH Continental Group plc (ICG) has sold the ferry Bilbao to the St Peter Line in Nicosia, Cyprus, for €37.7 million, payable in instalments over 5.75 years, up to September 2016.

SHIPPING trade volumes and port traffic have returned to growth, according to the latest figures issued by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO).

Dublin: Freight volumes are edging towards a recovery, according to the latest figures on Irish shipping and port traffic from the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) for the first quarter of 2010.

More than 800 Irish passengers stranded abroad because of the no-fly zone over northern Europe have sought help from a consular crisis service, it was revealed today.

LONG-HAUL passenger numbers at Aer Lingus plunged by a quarter last month as ferry numbers showed an increase.

The number of ships docking at ports around the country continued to fall in the first half of the year, new figures revealed today.

CONTAINER traffic through Irish ports has fallen for the first time in 10 years.

The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) has announced expansion plans totalling over €640m by seven Irish-based shipping groups.

I AM delighted to see reports emerging from State agencies which indicate that, at long last, this island nation of ours is becoming a serious player in international shipping.

THE latest figures released by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) show that Ireland’s shipping passenger market is continuing to peg back market share from the low-cost airline market.

FERRY travel is on the increase as people become disgruntled with air travel.

THE Irish shipping industry saw record growth last year.

SIPTU has called on the Government to fund and implement a range of measures to save Ireland's shipping sector.

Irish Ferries has presented its employees with an extraordinary predicament which, understandably, has led to threatened strike action over the company’s naked attempt to replace them with lower paid workers.

THE voluntary redundancy package offered to Irish Ferries’ workers could cost the company €20 million.

Irish Ferries should halt its plan to axe more than 500 jobs on services to Britain until new Government supports are put in place, it was claimed today.

THE Government has urged Irish Ferries to hold off implementing its restructuring plan until it considered a report proposing additional tax breaks for the industry.

John Browne, Minister for State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, has welcomed moves to develop short sea transport corridors which could offer Ireland significant advantages.

Irish shipping firms are to benefit from a €75m funding package from the EU.