A round up of activity around Wicklow Port (Updated monthly)
February 2026
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.