The port is operated by the semi-state Dublin Port Company, incorporated on 28 February 1997 (formerly the Dublin Port and Docks Board and successor to the Ballast Board founded in 1707), whose headquarters are located just beyond the main port entrance north of the Liffey. According to the DPC, the port handled 23.5 million tonnes of cargo in 2003, as well as 1,426,000 passengers. That year 7,917 ships docked in the port, including 54 cruise liners carrying 54,000 visitors.
In April 2010, the Dublin Port Company announced its "busiest week ever", following restrictions placed on European airspace because of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. Some 72,118 passengers were reported to have travelled through the ferry terminals during the week 15–21 April. That week saw the culmination of increased trade in Dublin Port, as the company's figures for the first quarter of 2010 would eventually reveal. March 2010 saw a 13.5% trade increase when compared with March 2009, and that month was declared by the company as the fourth consecutive month of trade increase since the economic downturn.
The Dublin Port Company is responsible for pilotage services within Dublin Bay, and manages the three port lighthouses (but not those of Howth or Kish Bank). It also operates three diesel tugboats and two drydocks (located near Alexandra Quay), and provides divers for underwater hull inspections. It licenses private companies to provide stevedoring services.
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