Shipment hub firm meet with councillors

A number of West Clare area county councillors met with representatives of Dublin-based consulting engineering firm NJ O’Gorman and Associates Ltd in Kilrush earlier this month to discuss plans to develop an intercontinental container trans-shipment hub port next to the ESB Moneypoint power station.
David Kelly and Joe O’Gorman represented the company at the meeting in the Vandeleur Walled Garden Centre in Kilrush Wood. However, the identity of the main firm behind the proposal, which could create more than 200 full-time jobs and 300 during the construction phase, was not revealed.
“We assume it’s an Asian company,” Councillor Oliver Garry, who attended the meeting, told The Clare Champion.
It is envisaged that there would be two kilometres of jetty and sufficient room for 55,000 containers.
“They have done a survey of all the other deep water areas in Ireland and Britain. Even on the Shannon Estuary, they have looked at other sites that were proposed for this type of venture. They seem to think that this one in Ballymacrinan Bay is the only one that will suit it because it has such deep water. There are over 24 metres of water there at low tide. They seem to think that this is the area for it if they can get it through planning and get it through various designations. After about a year, they’ll be able to go to planning,” the Kildysart Fine Gael councillor added.
“They are carrying out surveys on the estuary. Ballymacrinan Bay is west of Moneypoint Power Station. They need a level area that is on the same level as the water. The total area taken up would be about 213 hectares. It would be a massive boost to Clare. Seemingly, it’s the most ideal place that this company could find for a trans-shipment depot. It’s right in the centre of where they want it and the Shannon Estuary is sheltered. The fact that there’s so much room for manoeuvring these extra-big ships that would be coming with their containers,” Councillor Garry explained.
The trans-shipment hub concept is being facilitated by the development of intercontinental container ships, known as mother ships, which have capacities of up to 15,000 TEUs (20 foot equivalent units). At the hub port the containers are offloaded from mother ships and transferred to smaller ships, which serve satellite ports.
The mother ships are reloaded with containers that have been received at the hub from satellite ports for onward transportation to the next intercontinental hub port.