Figures issued yesterday show that the Port of Cork enjoyed a record year last year with throughput up by 13.4 per cent and an increase of 10.2 per cent in imports to 6.27 million tonnes. Exports from the port were up by 3.87 million tonnes, an increase of 19 per cent.
Also yesterday, Swansea Cork Ferries, operator of the only service linking Britain and the south-west of Ireland, announced that from March 12th a new vessel with increased capacity would be brought into service between Cork and Wales.
The MV City of Cork, formerly the Egnatia II, will replace the existing superferry which has been on the route for some years.
The City of Cork will have 806 bunks compared to just 400 on the superferry. The decision to purchase it, the company said, reflected the strong customer base the service enjoyed. Swansea Cork Ferries, which had been run by the Strintzis Line, is now owned by a Cork-based consortium.
Announcing the figures yesterday, the chairman of the Port of Cork company, Mr Frank Boland, said the port had firmly established itself as the primary location on Ireland's southern corridor.
Oil traffic, he added, increased during 2000 to 5.86 million tonnes due to the additional capacity available at Whitegate oil refinery since it was upgraded in late 1999.
Container traffic also showed impressive growth, with the number of vehicles imported rising to 113,000.