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WATCH: World's largest short sea roll-on/roll-off vessel christened at Dublin Port

The world's largest short sea roll-on/roll-off ship has been christened in a ceremony at Dublin P...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.24 20 Apr 2018


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WATCH: World's largest...

WATCH: World's largest short sea roll-on/roll-off vessel christened at Dublin Port

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.24 20 Apr 2018


Share this article


The world's largest short sea roll-on/roll-off ship has been christened in a ceremony at Dublin Port.

The MV Celine is owned by Luxembourg-based CLdN and is the newest vessel in its fleet.

The firm offers more than 135 weekly sailings between the ports of Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, London, Killingholme, Dublin, Gothenburg, Esbjerg, Hirtshals, Santander, Porto, Flushing and Dagenham.

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An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was on-hand for the formal naming ceremony - a long-held tradition intended to bring good fortune to the ship.

On-board the MV Celine | Image: Paul Quinn

A champagne bottle was broken against the hull as the ship was christened.

He said: "It is a pleasure to be here today in Dublin Port for the christening of this magnificent new vessel, the MV Celine.

"I would like to congratulate CLdN on its continued commitment to providing enhanced cargo shipping into and out of Ireland.

"I also congratulate their environmentally friendly approach by developing a vessel that allows for dual fuel propulsion and lower carbon emissions.

On-board the MV Celine | Image: Paul Quinn

"The MV Celine is the largest short-sea roll-on/roll-off vessel in the world and will strengthen Ireland’s trade links with Europe by providing direct services from Dublin to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge."

With a capacity of 8,000 lane-meters, MV Celine represents the next generation of super ferries servicing Dublin Port.

The new ship would not have been able to call into Dublin Port without development works on three kilometres of berths.

The 235m long ship was constructed in South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Shipyard, before being deployed to her homeports of Zeebrugge and Rotterdam.

On-board the MV Celine | Image: Paul Quinn

In October 2017, she made her maiden call into Dublin.

Cargo volumes at Dublin Port reached a new record in 2017 as 36.4 million tonnes passed through the port.

Figures show that cargo volumes at Dublin Port grew by 3.4% in the first quarter of 2018 to exceed nine million gross tonnes for the quarter.

Imports for the first three months of the year rose by 4.3% - while exports increased by 2.1%.

Most of the port’s cargo is comprised of freight trailers and containers and both sectors showed continued strong growth.

On the passenger and vehicle side of the business, imports of trade vehicles in the first three months jumped by 14.2%, while passenger volumes climbed by 8.6%.


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