Belfast Part 1
June 5, 2023
HM 221. Belfast 1 of 2. A hive of energy.
When it was suggested a yacht marina was built "up stream" of his busy port, the Harbour Master admits he was not keen! Arriving here you are like a light aeroplane landing at Heathrow airport. We were ushered through the busy shipping lanes by radio and moored up a stone's throw from the city centre.
25 million tonnes of cargo per year, 2 million ferry passengers,14,000 ship movements, 4,000 ferry movements and 150 cruise ship visits. The port occupies 20% of the city.
The man controlling the 9th largest port in the country is calm, it is no surprise that HM Captain Kevin Allen is also lifeboat coxswain.
A Belfast man, the son of a seafarer, Kevin visited ships' engine rooms from the age of five! Starting with BP, he finished up as the senior master of Stena Lines ferries. A man of detail, he told us how he monitored the engine revs of Stena ferries down to the last "rev" to optimise fuel efficiency.
In his office Kevin flashed facts and figures at us, his enthusiasm for the port was addictive.
- It costs £100,000 a day to rent Harland and Wolff's dry dock.
- Coal imported into Belfast is processed here and used to make Iphone screens, aluminium cans and the special tarmac for the corners of Formula 1 tracks.
- £250m is being spent this year on a new 380m quay.
The Trust Port owns all their land, runs the city airport and is landlord to tech, film, engineering and aerospace companies..
Kevin explained how the port acted an an economic barometer for the economy of NI and we did not even start discussing the implications of Brexit!
Thank you for a great visit Kevin - See my next post for the Titanic story and the birth of SOLAS (Saving of Lives at Sea).
When it was suggested a yacht marina was built "up stream" of his busy port, the Harbour Master admits he was not keen! Arriving here you are like a light aeroplane landing at Heathrow airport. We were ushered through the busy shipping lanes by radio and moored up a stone's throw from the city centre.
25 million tonnes of cargo per year, 2 million ferry passengers,14,000 ship movements, 4,000 ferry movements and 150 cruise ship visits. The port occupies 20% of the city.
The man controlling the 9th largest port in the country is calm, it is no surprise that HM Captain Kevin Allen is also lifeboat coxswain.
A Belfast man, the son of a seafarer, Kevin visited ships' engine rooms from the age of five! Starting with BP, he finished up as the senior master of Stena Lines ferries. A man of detail, he told us how he monitored the engine revs of Stena ferries down to the last "rev" to optimise fuel efficiency.
In his office Kevin flashed facts and figures at us, his enthusiasm for the port was addictive.
- It costs £100,000 a day to rent Harland and Wolff's dry dock.
- Coal imported into Belfast is processed here and used to make Iphone screens, aluminium cans and the special tarmac for the corners of Formula 1 tracks.
- £250m is being spent this year on a new 380m quay.
The Trust Port owns all their land, runs the city airport and is landlord to tech, film, engineering and aerospace companies..
Kevin explained how the port acted an an economic barometer for the economy of NI and we did not even start discussing the implications of Brexit!
Thank you for a great visit Kevin - See my next post for the Titanic story and the birth of SOLAS (Saving of Lives at Sea).