€80m passenger ferry service for Cork Harbour put on hold

Cork Harbour’s proposed €80m zero‑emissions passenger ferry service — announced last year amid considerable fanfare — has been placed on indefinite hold, The Echo has learned.

Last May, Portus Greenway Limited, trading as Harbour Link, said it was in the advanced stages of planning for the project, which would have delivered Cork Harbour’s first passenger ferry service in more than 100 years.

At the time, the company’s chief executive, Aidan Coffey, said he hoped to submit planning applications within six to 12 months, with the first all‑electric ferry envisaged to be carrying passengers by early to mid‑2027.

However, Mr Coffey has now confirmed to The Echo that the proposed service — expected to carry up to 1.5m passengers annually — has been put on hold.

He said the decision was taken pending the publication of a study into river usage in the city, as well as clarity around plans for the construction of three new bridges across the River Lee.

“Cork City Council and the Cork Docklands have decided to do a river usage study after the fact that they’ve already designed in three new bridges, and now they want to see who actually wants to use the river,” he said.

The river use survey was commissioned last year by Cork City Council and the Cork Docklands delivery office, and a council spokesperson said it is nearing completion, with the report projected to be published in early autumn.

The plan for three new bridges emerged during a public consultation on proposed variations to the Cork City Development Plan to facilitate docklands development.

The public consultation ran from April to May last year, and the changes were approved by councillors at a council meeting on June 14.

The first of the three proposed crossings would be a light rail, pedestrian, and cyclist bridge linking Kent Station with the South Quays. 

A second, focused on active travel, would connect the North Quays to the South Docklands. 

The third — described as an eastern gateway bridge — would link the Lower Glanmire Rd with Monahan Rd.

Mr Coffey said it was his understanding that the light rail bridge and the active travel bridge would both be level with the quays.

“Our ferries would have a problem with both bridges,” he said. “They will sterilise the quays, with no naval ships or tall ships being able to get into the quays.” 

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said it had not received a planning application for any aspect of Mr Coffey’s proposed ferry service, but he would first need to apply for a marine area consent (MAC) from the Marine Area Regulatory Authority (MARA).

Under the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021, an MAC is the first step in the planning process, granting the right to occupy a defined area of the sea and seabed for a designated purpose, before any planning application is made to An Coimisiún Pleanála or the coastal local authorities.

“The publication of the [river use study] does not affect the need for or prevent an MAC application through MARA,” a council spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for MARA said the authority does not discuss individual applications, but it publishes applications and determinations on its website. The Echo could find no such application on the website.

Asked by text whether he had applied for an MAC, Mr Coffey did not reply.