The original Port of Warrenpoint was constructed in the late 1770s and acted as a lightering port for the much larger Port of Newry. Following the demise of Newry as a port town, Warrenpoint Harbour Authority was created as a Trust Port by legislation in 1971. The modern Port was completed in 1974 when it covered 28 acres. Since then, the Port has expanded to its current size of approximately 63 Acres. The Port has seven operational berths capability of handling up to 7.5m before tidal influence. The Port’s Ro/Ro Ramp is 39m long, 27 metres wide with a design loading of 120 tonnes capable of accommodating vessels up to 25 metres beam.
Warrenpoint Port handles circa 12% of Northern Ireland’s port activity, with 45% export and 55% import. Key commodities for the Port include Timber, Steel, Animal Feed, RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) and Recyclables while Ro-Ro (roll on roll off Ferry) and Lo-Lo container services tend to drive a significant proportion of the tonnage. Warrenpoint Port offers a full range of shipping services with well-established Shipping agents and experienced Stevedores working directly from the Port’s facilities. The Port’s customer Seatruck offers a twice a day ‘roll on roll off’ (RoRo) ferry service to Heysham.
The Port provides short term Warehousing and Quayside storage facilities for a range of commodities including dry bulk, RDF and timber.
It also works with external storage partners for customers who require longer term storage options. Warrenpoint port also can handle tandem lifts and specific project cargo.
Warrenpoint Port is one of the most efficient, when comparing throughput per acre to other ports in the UK and Republic of Ireland because of its relatively small size and significant tonnage.