Plans for electric ferry service in Cork City unveiled

Aidan Coffey unveils €80m plan for zero-emissions ferry service in Cork Harbour with 17 stops and electric catamarans

CGI configuration of the new Harbour Link commuter and passenger ferry planned for Cork city and harbour.

The man behind a new Brexit-busting ferry service from Ireland to mainland Europe has set his sights again on launching a new ferry service in Cork harbour.

Aidan Coffey, who played a pivotal role in launching the DFDS ferry route between Rosslare and Dunkirk in 2021 in the days after Brexit, has unveiled plans on Monday to invest between €60m to €80m in establishing a tourist and commuter ferry service in and around Cork harbour which he believes could be operational within two years.

He was behind a similar but smaller proposal which secured planning in 2008, but was hit within weeks by the global economic crash, which sank any hopes of service setting sail.

It has been on the backburner ever since, Mr Coffey said, but it has been researched constantly and updated over the years. 

Mr Coffey said now that a range of local, regional, and national planning strategies have aligned, with Cork set to be one of the fastest growing city regions over the next 20 years, he believes the time is right to try again.

Only this time, the proposal is bigger and more ambitious, with a more than doubling in the number of stops, and with hi-tech zero emissions vessels now a viable option. Mr Coffey said:

Cork has a fantastic opportunity to develop this stylish yet sustainable mode of all electric zero emission transport, as it has the unique resource of the unencumbered natural highway of the River Lee leading directly into the city.

Mr Coffey, a director of Portus Greenway Ltd, trading as Harbour Link, says while a decade ago the proposed service would have had eight stops served by second-hand diesel-powered vessels, this new venture has plans for 17 stops served by four fully electric, zero emissions catamarans.

The service, aimed at commuters and tourists, has been designed to link communities on both sides of the lower harbour, with stops all the way into the city, including at Blackrock Castle, at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, at Marina Market, and at the proposed new transport hub at Kent train station.

The service has been designed to link communities on both sides of the lower harbour.

It would operate a half hourly service, 7am to 10pm daily, 364 days a year, with two of its four ships switching to a tourist offering after the peak morning rush.

The docking infrastructure for the proposed stops can be floated into place and fixed in place with relatively little landside disruption.

The catamarans, which are in design with a firm in Australia, are being designed to operate in a harbour and river environment, so they can deliver a low noise, low speed and low wake service to protect other river users and to safeguard sensitive environmental areas.

They would cruise at no more than six knots in the city areas, with special technology on board to pinpoint the location of smaller craft, including rowing boats.

The vessels will also be able to achieve more efficient speeds in open water such as Lough Mahon and the lower harbour.

They will be fully wheelchair accessible, with male, female and disabled accessible toilets, bike and luggage racks to accommodate mobility and electric scooters, and buggies.

Each twin-deck vessel will be air-conditioned, with 180-degree vision indoor cabin space, and rear open-air sections on both decks.

Services on-board will include a barista-styled coffee dock and kiosk, free wifi, and a downloadable app for multi-lingual guided listening tours of the harbour’s historic sites.

Pending the outcome of the planning process, the service could be operational by early to mid-2027, Aidan Coffey said. Picture: Larry Cummins

A range of hi-tech sustainable features will be built into the wider ferry service, with a rain capture system for on-board water needs, solar roof panels for on-board charging needs, solar powered navigation lights, and access lighting on the pontoons and gangways, with specially designed pontoon docking stations upriver equipped with aqua-flow generation technology that uses underwater turbines to harvest power from the river currents.

The company also plans to develop a ‘harbour hub terminus’ at Ballast quay in Cobh, to serve as a power charging base, and incorporating a second cruise berth.

Harbour Link has had discussions with Cork city and county councils and with the Port of Cork about its plans, and Mr Coffey said all have been very supportive.

Minister for State at the department of transport Jerry Buttimer, has backed the venture too.

“I am very supportive of the ambition and concept of the Harbour Link,” he said.

It could be transformative for tourism and commuters in Cork City, Blackrock, Monkstown, Crosshaven and across the harbour.

Alan Giltinan, the centre manager of Blackrock Castle and Observatory, said the service could transform how people interact with their centre.

“The ability to welcome visitors to the observatory via the water has the potential to significantly increase the footfall to the castle whilst giving the public a wonderfully scenic entrance through our waterside archway,” he said.

“It affords the castle an opportunity to return to our roots of landside and waterside access, a historical pathway of significance to both the castle and the region.

“As a Stem education site, it also opens further opportunities for schools and students to conveniently access the observatory, simultaneously inspiring and enthusing a unique arched gateway to a cosmic journey.”