24 | Dublin Port Yearbook 2021
Operating in a Pandemic As an essential part of Ireland’s infrastructure, Dublin Port had to continue to operate throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but just what did that mean for the day-to-day operations within the Port? Harbour Master, Michael McKenna, and Security Manager, Thomas Kavanagh, reveal the effect of Covid-19 on sea and land. The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc throughout Irish society, with huge swathes of the population either out of work or forced to work at home, as the majority of industries’ normal working practices ground to a shuddering halt. Essential services, however, had to remain operational, and Dublin Port is one of the most vital cogs in Ireland’s infrastructure in terms of the movement of essential goods and services into and out of the country. So how did the pandemic affect life in the Port and what measures had to be put in place to ensure the continuous and safe operation of the Port throughout 2020? Early in 2020, Dublin Port Company reacted quickly to the news reports about the rapidly spreading
coronavirus, forming a Covid-19 Planning and Working Group, involving senior management and representatives from each of the port functions, including Maintenance, Land Operations, Harbour Operations, Capital Projects etc, to gather as much information as possible about Covid-19, disseminate that verifiable information to staff and put in place measures to comply with public health directives. In the early days of the pandemic, the Working Group, chaired by John Fairley, Land Operations Manager, met twice weekly to organise and adjust the Port’s procedures in response to new information about Covid-19, and almost a year later, they still convene on a weekly basis.
