Cork ferry service ‘would work well with other transport’, says CEO of company behind project

The CEO of Cork Harbour’s proposed new €80m passenger ferry service has said he is hopeful that an integrated ticketing system would allow passengers to also use the city’s bus, train, and planned Luas services.

Portus Greenway Limited, trading as Harbour Link, announced this week that it is in advanced stages of planning for the project, which would give Cork Harbour its first passenger ferry service in more than 100 years.

The company’s founder, Aidan Coffey, told The Echo that he believed an integrated ticketing system would be beneficial for passengers and for service providers.

“We will be looking to work with the other stakeholders, whether that be the bus, the Luas, the train, we will be looking at having an integrated ticketing system, the technology is out there to do that,” he said.

Mr Coffey said his plan was that the proposed ferry service would carry up to 1.5m passengers per year, and he believed it could work well with other transport providers.

Visitor experience

He added that it was also his hope to tap into Cork’s 2.4m annual tourist market and to improve that visitor experience.

“We want them to be able to go to Blackrock Castle, Spike Island, Cobh, maybe as a gastronomic tour of the harbour, head to Crosshaven, Aghada, visit different restaurants, there’s a whole harbour experience that hasn’t been tapped into yet, and we want to increase the numbers visiting Cork.”

Blackrock Castle, Mr Coffey said, currently gets about 100,000 visitors per year, and with river access that number might double. Similarly, he believed that Spike Island’s current annual footfall of around 85,000 might be doubled if his ferry service was running.

The ferry service’s 17 planned docking locations would include City Quay, Kennedy Quay and SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Marina Quay, Tivoli, Blackrock Pier, Blackrock Castle and Observatory, Little Island, Passage West, Carrigaloe, Monkstown, Ringaskiddy, Paddy’s Point, Spike Island, Cobh Five Foot Way, Lynch’s Quay Terminal, Lower Aghada, and Crosshaven.

Should it go ahead, the €80m investment would involve all-electric, zero-emission vessels that would have capacity for up to 300 passengers. The company expects to lodge planning applications within six to 12 months, with a view to be operational by early to mid-2027.