The Life and Times of a Trust Port Falmouth Harbour Public Open Day – Friday 24 April 2026
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April 14th
Falmouth Harbour’s 65sq mile jurisdiction spans 600 moorings, a busy pilotage and a world cruise ship destination, as well as restoring sea grass meadows and testing marine renewables. Photo – Shark Bay for Falmouth Harbour
Falmouth Harbour will be opening the doors on its wide-ranging environmental, commercial and leisure operations during a public open day at the Grove Place Boat Park on Friday 24 April, looking to the future whilst reflecting on the past year in its Annual Report for 2025.
Another busy year concluded on a high note when Falmouth Harbour was named SME Port of the Year 2025 by the British Ports Association and was shortlisted for Sustainable Port of the Year – recognising the dedication of its teams and the strength of Falmouth and Cornwall’s wider marine economies.
“2025 highlighted the variety of maritime activity taking place across the Harbour – and as the first and last port in the UK, Falmouth never stands still,” says CEO Miles Carden.
“Strong partnerships are key to everything we do and whether we’re transferring a cargo of South American molasses in the Bay or landing a pilot aboard a cruise ship in stormy seas – the work of our teams is highly professional and never dull!
“Few people are really aware of the range of activity we undertake to keep our incredible Harbour active, relevant and sustainable in a changing world – so we’re always enthusiastic to meet and talk to our local communities about what we do.”
The Trust Port of Falmouth Harbour, Falmouth Haven and Falmouth Pilot Services manages more than 65sq miles of harbour and coastline for the benefit of all stakeholders, with any surplus it makes reinvested to benefit everyone, creating jobs and opportunities.
2025 was a busy year with leisure vessels: the team in Falmouth Haven had more than 800 visitors to the Harbour facilities, delivered 293,000 litres of fuel and looked after 850 seasonal customers across its 600 moorings, marina and boat park.
Among the many and varied activities for the Pilot Services crews, cruise operations reached record levels with 42 cruise visits and around 55,000 passengers visiting Falmouth, representing the most diverse mix of vessels the harbour has hosted. This is set to increase in 2026 with up to 50 visits.
Falmouth Pilot Boat Atlantic escorts the cruise ship AIDALuna. Photo Falmouth Harbour
BPT’s Demonstrator was monitored at the FaBTest site in Falmouth Bay during July 2025. Photo – Shark Bay for Falmouth Harbour
Innovation and renewable energy also featured strongly during the year with Crondall Energy deploying a floating offshore renewable demonstrator at the FaBTest site in Falmouth Bay in July. Built locally at A&P Falmouth Docks, the project highlighted the growing role Cornwall can play in offshore renewable energy technology and testing.
The Open Day on Friday 24 April from 10am to 4pm launches the 2025 Annual Report which includes performance, key projects and the progress made across operations, sustainability, and growth. It also outlines priorities for 2026, including the opportunities and challenges on the horizon for the Harbour and the wider maritime sector.
The day will showcase a range of operational activity (with Q&A sessions at 10:30 and 14:30) relevant to various harbour communities including mooring system components, Aids to navigations (AtoNs), innovative pontoon float solution, the water cleaning benefits of oysters, restoring seagrass/blue meadows with partners from Ocean Conservation Trust and the Harbour’s fleet of vessels including tours of the new, state-of-the-art Pilot Boat “Atlantic” between 11:00 and 13:00.
The Day and activities are free and open to all, but timed slots for the Pilot Boat tours are required – bookable in advance at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/falmouth-harbour-public-open-day-tickets-1986438344562
