May
Rix Eleonora (Ex Eva Maria Muller) arrived at Wicklow port Friday 8th May from Bromborough, Mersey to load scrap metal at the Packet pier. Took the pilot on arrival and went alongside the Packet pier. She sailed on the 11th for Liverpool.
Larrisa B arrived after 6.45hrs on Tuesday 12th May, from Monteras via Dundee. She discharged a part cargo of packaged timber at the Packet pier and departed the same evening for Ridham Dock in the UK.
Velox docked early on the 13th of May, arriving from Varberg via Belfast. She discharged a part cargo of packaged timber and sailed the same evening for Warrenpoint.
The Dutch Amadeus Silver arrived from Dundalk on Wednesday 20th May to load out a cargo of round timber at the North Quay berth. Built by Damen in 2011, the vessel originally entered service for Union Transport as Union Silver and was registered in Douglas, Isle of Man. She departed the following day for Antwerp.
Wilson Brugge arrived on the afternoon of May 21st from Glasson Dock to load out scrap metal at the Packet pier. This is her second visit of the year to load out the same cargo at Wicklow, it was noted her port of register and flag has changed from Barbados to Nassau, Bahamas since her last call in January. She departed on Saturday 23 May for Leioxes, Portugal.
The Dutch Lady Hedwig arrived from Hamina via Sheernes on Sunday 24th May to discharge a part cargo of Packaged timber at the Packet pier. She left the port the following evening and went to anchor in the bay to await orders. She departed on Friday 29th for Drogheda. This was her first call at Wicklow port.
Sistership Lady Harriet arrived from Hamina on Thursday 27 May, with a cargo of timber. She departed the same day heading north for Drogheda. This was her second call to Wicklow.
Scot Pioneer arrived from Varberg on Sunday 31st May to discharge a cargo of packaged timber.
Ams Retriever was a nice, unexpected visitor to Wicklow port from Cork on Thursday 7th. It is operated by the locally based company Alpha Marine and went alongside the South Quay before lunchtime. She left a week later for Rotterdam.
The Ketch Maybe visited the port during the month and spent a few days alongside the East pier. The vessel is currently being used by Sail Training Ireland –Youth Development
The French flagged sailing ship Phoenix arrived at 14.00hrs on Friday 29th May and moored alongside the East pier, after completing a long voyage from the Mediteraeann Sea to Wicklow. Phoenix will be used in a Revolutionary War-era film that follows two brothers on opposite sides of the conflict, this is currently in production at locations around Ireland.
A set was built overlooking Travelahawk Beach during the early part of the month, this was to film scenes for a popular German crime series. Filming also took place along the south quay.
Wicklow Sailing club lift in day took place on Saturday, May 2nd, and yachts were placed on the moorings.
Traffic sightings included the coaster Echo Petra out of Dundalk for Aviles. The coaster Celebrity was also noted in the bay northbound out of Plymouth for Drogheda.
Aviation traffic sightings over the bay during the month included an Air Corps Maritime Patrol Aircraft and the Coast Guard AW189 SAR helicopter.
April
Coaster callers this month at Wicklow included Scot Pioneer, arriving on Thursday 9th from Varberg with a cargo of packaged timber. She departed for Belfast a few days later.
Rikke B (Cyprus) was the next caller, arriving on the 6th from Mönsterås, Sweden, again with packaged timber. She departed for Warrenpoint on the 8th.
Rix Eleonora (Madeira, Portuguese International Register; ex Eva Maria Müller, 2016) arrived on the 8th from Waterford to load scrap metal at the Packet Pier. She sailed for Setúbal, Portugal on the 11th. This was her first visit to Wicklow.
Hilde B (Cyprus) arrived on the 13th from Hamina, Finland with a cargo of packaged timber. With discharge completed she departed for Warrenpoint the same evening.
Lady Harriet (Holl) arrived on the 19th from Hamina with packaged timber and departed the following day, the 20th, for Derry. This was also her first call to Wicklow. Sistership Lady Hester called last year with a similar cargo.
Scot Isles arrived on the 22nd from Varberg with packaged timber and sailed the following day for Warrenpoint.
The Irish lights Vessel Granuaile was engaged in navigation buoy maintenance along the coast during the month and anchored in the bay overnight on a couple of occasions. The Irish Research vessel Tom Crean also anchored overnight in the bay during the month, while conducting a survey in the Irish Sea.
The cruise ship Hamburg was seen heading south on the 24th, outbound from Dublin for Cork. This marks my first sighting of a cruise ship in 2026. Passing traffic in the bay included the dredger Freeway, northbound from Waterford to Dublin. The work vessel Hound Dog was seen heading north on two occasions during the month after loading cargoes of rock armour at the Arklow Roadstone Jetty. These shipments were destined for a project at Greencastle, County Donegal.
March
The RDJ Dongestroom was the first vessel to call in March, arriving from Foynes on the 1st to load out a cargo of recyclable metals. Loading was completed efficiently and she departed on the 4th bound for Leixões, Portugal. This marked her first visit to Wicklow.
Next to arrive was Wilson Flex II, which came in from Warrenpoint on the 7th March, also to load recyclable metals. Built in China in 2022, the multi‑purpose vessel is on long‑term charter to Wilson Shipping, in partnership with Arkon Shipping. She is one of five vessels in the Hanse Eco class, featuring a single cargo hold with accommodation and wheelhouse positioned forward. Loading was completed by the 10th, after which she departed for Liverpool on the tide. Wilson Flex II was another first-time caller at Wicklow port.
On the 19th of March, Scot Ranger arrived from Varberg, having previously called at Belfast. She discharged a cargo of packaged timber at the Packet Pier before sailing later the same evening, for Inverness in Scotland. Scot Ranger is a regular visitor to the port.
The following day, Wilson Finnfjord arrived from Varberg via New Holland, again to discharge packaged timber at the Packet Pier. Built in China in 2012, the multi‑purpose dry cargo vessel is container-capable and strengthened for heavy cargo operations. She departed the following afternoon for Brake, Germany. Like most callers this month, this was also her first call to Wicklow port.
Vessels noted anchoring in the bay during March, included the ILV Granuaile, research vessel Tom Crean, and the coaster Solitas.
Traffic sightings included the tug Katie Lou, which was seen on the 6th of March towing a barge south to load rock armour at the Arklow Rock jetty, this was destined for a project at Dublin Port. At the same time, the tug Ocean Bank was also transiting south while towing a jack‑up rig.
The Irish Ferries Isle of Inisheer returned to service during the month following dry‑docking in Dunkirk, resuming operations on the Dublin – Cherbourg route. While she was in dry dock, the James Joyce was noted covering the service along with W.B Yeats.
On a couple of occasions during the month, the Emerald Gratia and various mussel trawlers were noted heading south through the bay and later returning north.
Some notable aviation movements were recorded in March. The new Garda Air Support Unit “Otter” aircraft was sighted for the first time since entering service. Also observed was an Irish Air Corps Airbus C295 Maritime Patrol Aircraft transiting north over Wicklow Bay.
The Dublin‑based Coast Guard A189 helicopter was noted on transiting north over the bay during the month, as was a Vulcanair P68C aircraft, which was seen carrying out an aerial survey over the bay.
Filming activity took place at the Black Castle during the month; a public shelter was erected as a prop overlooking the Castle to facilitate some scenes.
In rail news, the RPSI “Sea Breeze” railtour from Dublin Connolly to Rosslare passed through Wicklow on the 29th of March. The train was hauled by locomotive 171 “Slieve Gullion”, making its first visit to Wicklow and the area in decades, a particularly noteworthy moment for us rail enthusiasts!
February
RDJ Ijsselstroom was the first caller, arriving from Waterford on the 12th to load scrap metal. She sailed on the 14th bound for Liverpool. This was the coasters’ first visit to Wicklow.
The Cypriot flagged Larissa B (Ex Crown Mary) was next, arriving on the 15th from Hamina via Dundee, to discharge a part cargo of packaged timber at the Packet pier; she sailed on the 16th heading south for Waterford.
The next caller was Faversham Shipping’s Velox (Ex Scot Leader) arriving on the 17th from Varberg to discharge a part cargo of Swedish packaged timber. The ship was now sporting a black hull and looked very smart indeed. She sailed late on the 18th for the short run north along the coast to Warrenpoint.
The last ship to call during the month was Fiona B (Ex Alizee), she arrived from Monsteras, Finland via Sheerness on the 19th and discharged packaged timber before departing on the 20th for Drogheda. She is a sister ship to Larissa B. Both are regular callers to Wicklow.
Wicklow Port featured on TV News Bulletins during the month as storms caused damage around the harbour as seas crashed over the East pier. More coast erosion was reported along the Murrough, with the Monkey Pole falling over as heavy seas washed away more ground around it.
Traffic sightings in the bay during the month included a new ship on the Rotterdam – Dublin feeder line trade. Rike J is a 155 metre containership and went into service in January following a naming ceremony at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The ship built in China is the first of a series of three that will be going into service. A notable feature is that the deckhouse and accommodation are positioned forward, offering an unobstructed view ahead and allowing for increased cargo capacity. I’ve only seen Rike J from a distance, but it looks quite impressive.
The ferry James Joyce was also a notable sighting in the bay during the month, it was covering Irish Ferries additional Weekend service between Dublin – Cherbourg, while Isle of Inisheer is in drydock at Dunkirk.
Another Faversham shipping coaster, the Clarity also anchored in the bay for a few days during the month. This was most likely down to bad weather. She left the bay on the 12th and sailed for Poole. I read somewhere Clarity was going on charter work between Poole and the Channel Islands for a couple of weeks.
And finally, the Irish lights vessel Granuaile was noted working on a navigation buoy off Wicklow port late in the month. The ship is always a welcome sight in the bay.
January 2026
The first ship to call in 2026 at Wicklow was Scot Leader, arriving on New Year’s Day with a part cargo of packaged timber from Varberg. She discharged at the Packet pier and departed the following day for Kilroot. The next caller was Wilson Brugge arriving on the 4th from Foynes to load out scrap metal. She sailed on the 7th of January bound for Liverpool. Looking back through the archive, Wilson Brugge’s last visit to the port was back in May 2017, when she arrived from Cork to load a similar cargo.
The Latvian flagged Ceg Cosmos was the next caller, arriving from Ramsey on the 8th of January to load out round timber at the north quay berth. She sailed the following day for Birkenhead. Ceg Cosmos returned to Wicklow on the 25th to load another cargo of round timber, again for Birkenhead. Looking back through the archive, the small coaster made her first call to Wicklow in October 1989, to discharge coal from the continent as the Feran for Wicklow Corn Company.
Wilson Cadiz made her first call to Wicklow port, arriving on the 22th from Varberg to discharge a part cargo of timber, she back loaded a cargo of scrap metal and departed on the 21st destined for Pasajes in Spain. Bad weather disrupted her trip, and she anchored off Padstow for a couple of days and finally reached Spain on the 30th of January.
The next caller was the Cypriot flagged Talina B, arriving from Finland to unload packaged. She departed on the 25th for the Shannon Estuary to load at Limerick. This ship was the ex-Tina up to 2022 and has been a regular caller to Wicklow since 2010.
The last caller of the month was Belgium flagged CL Nagaro, going alongside the Packet pier on the 30th. Her arrival was delayed by Storm Chandra, which was crossing the country at the time.This was the coaster’s first call at Wicklow, and she discharged a part cargo of timber from Sweden. She sailed early the following morning for the short run north to Warrenpoint. Built in 2024, CL Nargo is operated by the Antwerp based Conti-Lines. Last year sister vessel CL Flanders called to discharge a similar cargo.
A notable visitor to the port during the month was the beam trawler Bridget Carmel. Spending a few days alongside the East pier as crew carried out some maintenance. The work vessel AMS Retriever also departed on 4th January for Rotterdam, after spending a few days at Wicklow port.
Wicklow RNLI held its annual remembrance service at noon on New Year’s Day. The relief lifeboat RNLB Brianne Adlington and the Inshore lifeboat were launched, and after a short religious ceremony, flowers were launched from the Inshore lifeboat into the water to remember all past members of the RNLI and local deceased sailors.
Dún Laoghaire lifeboat RNLB Anna Livia (14-05) towed a fishing vessel into Wicklow harbour on Saturday 4th January. Once the fishing vessel was secured alongside the south quay, the lifeboat returned to the station.
The 140 metre Cypriot flagged containership Andromeda J also anchored overnight on the 28th as Storm Chandra crossed the country; she departed early the following morning and resumed passage south from Dublin to Rotterdam. Built in 2006 she is a regular visitor to Dublin port.
Traffic sightings during the month included Irish Ferries James Joyce returning to Dublin after a weekend run to Cherbourg during the month. The ship was standing in as regular ferries go for annual drydocking during the month of January. Tanker traffic included Thun Gratitude and Thun London, which are regular callers to Dublin from the oil refinery at Milford Haven.
A notable Aviation ighting in the bay over the month was the Weston-based Coast Guard AW189 helicopter call sign R116. it was transiting south for a winch exercise with Arklow lifeboat.
And finally..
On the 31st January, the last CHC Waterford based s92 Coast Guard helicopter finally stood down, and the Bristow AW189 helicopter took over duties. For the past twenty five years CHC provided SAR helicopters to the Irish Coast Guard, in there early days s61n helicopters were used, before the s92 was introduced.