THE world’s largest short sea ‘Ro-Ro’ ship was christened at Dublin Port on Friday at a ceremony attended by guest of honour, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
The ‘Godmother’ to the MV Celine, Geraldine O’Reilly, and the port’s chaplains also attended the formal event that is a long-held tradition intended to bring good fortune to the ship.
As a champagne bottle was smashed against the hull, new Irish music commissioned by Dublin Port was performed by John Sheahan of the Dubliners and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of the Frames to herald the ship’s naming.
Invited guests included representitives from her Luxembourg-based owner CLdN and the wider European shipping industry.
With a capacity of 8,000 lane-meters, the MV Celine represents the next generation of super ferries servicing Dublin Port. Significantly, her arrival marks a new milestone in the multi-million-euro ABR Project to futureproof Dublin Port.
Such is her size, MV Celine would not have been able to call into Dublin Port had development works on three kilometres of berths not already commenced.
The 235m long ship was constructed in South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Shipyard before being deployed to her homeports of Zeebrugge and Rotterdam.
In October 2017, MV Celine made her maiden call into Dublin, providing additional capacity for customers trading with Continental Europe via the ports of Zeebrugge and Rotterdam.
Cargo volumes at Dublin Port reached a new record in 2017 as 36.4 million tonnes passed through the port including one million Ro-Ro units.
CLdN’s direct freight services to Continental Europe is providing the capacity for this increasing demand with importers and exporters seeking alternatives for the efficient movement of goods, particularly with the reality of Brexit looming.
On the passenger and vehicle side of the business, imports of trade vehicles in the first three months jumped by 14.2 per cent while passenger volumes climbed by 8.6 per cent.
Similarly, the number of tourist vehicles grew by 6.4 per cent. Dublin Port’s cruise business will see 154 cruise ship arrivals, bringing a record-breaking 275,000 visitors to the city this year, including 10 maiden calls and five full turnaround cruises.
Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, 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.
“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.”
A representative of CLdN, said: “Choosing to name CLdN’s first of the next generation of Ro-Ro vessels, MV Celine, in Dublin is testament to our belief in our Irish and continental trade lane and is an appreciation of the support given over the past decade by Dublin Port Company and our dynamic team in Ireland.”