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Irish Independent
19-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cork City to get brand-new river ferry service
16 different locations around the world's second largest natural harbour are due to finally be linked to the Fishguard Wharf 'city hub', as part of the €80 million 'Harbour Link' project, which was unveiled to the public today. A ferry service around the harbour has been on the city's wish list for several years, and this ambitious project, which includes an express Cork-Cobh service, as well as the full harbour route, is due to revolutionise travel around the harbour, which becomes bottlenecked in several towns and villages during busy commuter times. The service is set to have capacity for over 1.5 million passenger trips annually across the 17 docking locations, taking thousands of cars off the city's already jammed roads every day. The ferry route spans from Crosshaven and Aghada in the lower harbour to the heart of Cork City, with stops at Ringaskiddy, Monkstown, Passage West, Little Island, Blackrock Castle & Observatory, and the city quays. This extensive network will connect with the new Transport Hub at Kent Station, providing direct pedestrian and cyclist access to the city. The private service is set to use 'uniquely designed' sustainable zero-emission catamarans, specifically built for the harbour and river environment to achieve low noise and low wake service. They will be capable of operating at low speeds in restricted areas to protect the environment and other river users, while also achieving more efficient speeds in open water areas for reliable scheduled service. If complete, the service would be the first passenger ferry service in the city in over a century, to compliment the new Cork LUAS, which is set to be the city's first light-rail system, also in over a century. Each vessel will have capacity for up to 300 passengers to accommodate peak demand for commuter services, tourist times, and special events, with a direct link to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The ferries will prioritise accessibility with full disabled access throughout and are designed to accommodate a variety of transport needs with bicycle and luggage racks, plus space for electric and mobility scooters. Household pets will be welcome on the outer decks, making the service truly inclusive for all passengers. Onboard amenities will include a barista-style coffee shop and kiosk for light refreshments, accessible toilets, free 4G Wi-Fi with phone charging points, and a downloadable app offering multilingual guided heritage tours of historic harbour sites. The commuter service plans to operate at 30-minute frequencies to the city in each direction, while tourists can purchase 24 or 48-hour hop-on-hop-off passes to explore harbour attractions. Portus Greenway Limited, which made the announcement this morning, says it expects to lodge planning applications within 6 to 12 months, with operations projected to begin by early to mid-2027.
Irish Examiner
19-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Plans for electric ferry service in Cork City unveiled
Plans for a near €80m fully electric river ferry service in and around Cork harbour have been unveiled. Ferry company executive Aidan Coffey said he hopes to lodge the required planning and licence applications within six to 12 months for a 17-stop ferry service between over a dozen harbour communities and the city centre using four 300-passenger capacity zero emissions catamarans. Pending the outcome of the planning process, the service could be operational by early to mid-2027, Mr Coffey said. Mr Coffey, who played a pivotal role in launching the DFDS ferry route between Rosslare and Dunkirk in 2021 post Brexit, currently leads Hibernia Line, which aims to launch more freight and passenger ferry routes from Ireland to mainland Europe over the coming weeks. He is also a director of Portus Greenway Ltd, trading as Harbour Link, which is behind the proposed new harbour ferry service. He was behind a similar but smaller proposal in 2008 but despite securing planning, it was shelved when the global economic crash hit. 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, with major residential development earmarked for Tivoli and docklands, and with massive investment in transport projects such as BusConnects and the Cork Luas, he believes the time is right to try again. 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. Harbour Link has identified up to 17 docking locations, including Crosshaven, Aghada, Spike Island, Cobh Ballast Quay and Five Foot Way, Ringaskiddy, Monkstown, Passage West, and Little Island in the lower harbour. It has exciting proposals to stop at Blackrock Pier, at the eastern end of the upgraded Marina Promenade, and at Blackrock Castle and Observatory, which could lead to the opening up the castle's riverside arched entrance to public use for the first time in decades. It also has proposed stops at Tivoli, at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and at Kennedy Quay in the south docklands, potentially at the Marina Market area, as well as at the new transport hub proposed at Kent Station. The large capacity catamarans will be able to cope with demand at peak commuter times, high-demand requirements from tourists when cruise liners call to Cobh, and with big events at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Live at the Marquee, or other major city events. The commuter service has planned frequencies of 30 minutes to the city in each direction, with a 24-hour or 48-hour hop-on, hop-off pass for short-break tourists visiting harbour sites such as Blackrock Castle and Observatory or Spike Island.
