Business, Freight News, Logistics, Rail, Sea


CLdN to buy Samskip’s UK and Ireland activity

[ February 17, 2026   //   ]

Shortsea operator CLdN is to buy Samskip’s quay-to-quay and door-to-door freight business between the Continent, UK and Ireland, subject to regulatory approval and for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition covers the container shipping services currently operated by Samskip between Rotterdam and Belfast, Blythe, Grangemouth, Hull and Tilbury and the Irish ports of Cork, Dublin and Waterford, currently over 1,000 port calls every year.

The transaction also includes door-to-door services between the UK, Ireland and continental Europe, including the transfer of the lease agreements for more than 5,000 multimodal units including 45ft pallet-wide containers, refrigerated containers and curtain-side containers; 40 and 45ft flat racks and 40ft high-cube refrigerated containers.

Some supplier agreements will also be transferred to CLdN including contracts for road haulage, rail and barge connections, vessel sharing and port operating agreements. 

CLdN said the transaction would significantly increase its door-to-door multimodal activities and give it a wider network reach, particularly between the UK and Ireland and Central and Eastern Europe.

CLdN chief executive, Florent Maes, said: “This transaction is highly complementary to CLdN’s existing shipping and multimodal activities. Customers will benefit from an even broader array of shipping options, increased sailing frequency and enhanced door-to-door equipment and services. CLdN has a long history of connecting mainland Europe with the UK and Irish markets and we look forward to further developing these reliable, flexible and environmentally efficient connections. We are also delighted that we will welcome new colleagues to our CLdN team and are excited by the prospect of growing CLdN’s business together in the coming years.” 

Samskip chief executive, Ólafur Orri Ólafsson, added: “We at Samskip are very confident about this transaction. It will allow us to focus on the key strategic markets of the future, where we will continue to invest in our organization and further develop our longer-distance trades where we deliver the most value to our customers. At the same time, selling the UK and Ireland trades to a strong partner will secure the continuation of this trade and guarantee a high coverage for our customers in the respective markets.”

Samskip said it was confident that by handing over the UKI-trade, continuity and high service levels for its customers would be secured: “By selling this part of its business, greater focus can be given to growing other parts of their network, ensuring a strong, sustainable product offering with a customer-centric organization.”

Samskip would focus on its long-distance multimodal network that in mainland Europe, the Nordics, Baltics and North Africa.

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